Studies in Health Technology and Informatics (IOS Press) – serie

Throughout the world, healthcare professionals often lack knowledge of the possibilities and limitations of systematically processing data, information and knowledge and of the resulting impact on quality decision-making. They are often asked to use information technologies of which they have limited appreciation, in order to enhance their practices through better use of information resources. However, for systematically processing data, information and knowledge in medicine and in healthcare, healthcare professionals who are well-trained in medical informatics or health informatics are needed. It will only be through improved education of healthcare professionals and through an increase in the number of well-trained workers in health and medical informatics that this lack of knowledge and associated skills can begin to be reversed. Although we can recognize further progress in educating health and a considerable number of educational programs for health informatics / medical informatics specialists have been set up, there is still a need to enhance these educational activities world wide, considering global developments as well as new curricular concepts and technological opportunities. IMIA and in particular its working group on health and medical informatics education is the leading international society stimulating such educational activities in various ways. This book is especially helpful for educators in the field of health / medical informatics.

This book represents the most current development on the expanding and changing field of telemedicine and e-health, especially in the developing countries. Many things have changed since the publication of the first book in 2004 (Establishing Telemedicine in Developing Countries: From Inception to Implementation). Telemedicine has become more popular, and still continues to grow. While there are many good books and materials on telemedicine, this publication can be seen at the work of reference for all of those who want to practice telemedicine and e-health, particularly in developing countries. This publication deals with ways to establish telemedicine and e-health system, not only in the developing countries, but also in the developed world. Hopefully, this book will be a guide that reflects the status of telemedicine at the given time. It is dedicated to all future generations of telemedicine and e-health students which include healthcare practitioners, administrators, policy makers, technical professionals and others.

This is the first of a series of Instructional Course Lectures (ICL) books of the International Society On Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT). In the contents of this book the reader can find the SOSORT statutes and become familiar with the aims of the creation of this society. This will hopefully be the initiation of a series of books on conservative scoliosis treatment and a valuable library for SOSORT. The philosophy of the commencement of such ICL book series is the achievement of an ultimate aim, the improvement of early detection and non operative treatment of the patient care pathway for scoliosis. For this endeavor, a number of eminent clinicians and scientists around the world, who are devoted and high-quality students of scoliosis, are involved with and contributing to their fabulous work. There is no doubt that this book is not able to cover every aspect of the issue. However, the future volumes of this series of books will continuously complete the latest relevant knowledge. In this volume there are chapters reporting on various aspects of the current state of the following topics: IS aetiology, recent trends on scoliosis research, genetics, prevention - school screening, various methods of physiotherapy, various types of braces, the inclusion criteria for conservative treatment, together with the SOSORT guidelines for conservative treatment, clinical evaluation and classification, study of the surface after brace application and outcomes for each brace.

The topics of Advances in Information Technology and Communication in Health, the proceedings of ITCH 2009, include telemedicine and telehealth, electronic health records, software assurance and usability, terminology, classification and standards, software selection and evaluation, research and development initiatives, service administration, management and self-management, nation-wide Canadian initiatives, ethics, policy and government, decision support, artificial intelligence and modeling, software design and development, educational initiatives and professional development and technology adoption and evaluation. In March 1986, a Canadian colloquium with an international flavor was convened to discuss the impact of information technology on community health. It was sponsored by the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria and the British Columbia Ministry of Health. This small, successful gathering was the predecessor of the Information Technology in Community Health (ITCH) conferences that followed in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. In 2007, after a brief hiatus, the conference was held again, but this time it had expanded its scope. It was known as Information Technology and Communications in Health (ITCH) 2007; with the same acronym but with a different meaning as demanded by its international appeal and wider choice of subject areas. The conference in 2007 was an unmatched success and for the conference of 2009, an even more eventful convention is expected, which encourages experts to demonstrate and share their experiences and knowledge. The theme for the ITCH 2009 conference is ‘Revolutionizing Health Care with Informatics: From Research to Practice’.

The goal of this book is to bring together ideas from several different disciplines in order to examine the focus and aims that drive rehabilitation intervention and technology development. Specifically, the chapters in this book address the questions of what research is currently taking place to further develop rehabilitation, applied technology and how we have been able to modify and measure responses in both healthy and clinical populations using these technologies. The following chapters are dedicated toward addressing these issues: 1) Does Training with Technology Add to Functional Gains?; 2) Are there Rules that Govern Recovery of Function?; 3) Using the Body’s Own Signals to Augment Therapeutic Gains; 4) Technology Incorporates Cognition and Action; 5) Technology Enhances the Impact of Rehabilitation Programs; 6) Summary.

The field of health informatics (or medical informatics as it is sometimes called) is still a relatively young one compared to other areas of biomedicine and the health sciences. Nevertheless, its impact on the quality and efficiency of healthcare is crucial.This second, extensively revised and updated edition of Health Informatics: An Overview includes new topics which address contemporary issues and challenges and shift the focus on the health problem space towards a computer perspective.An overview is provided of the health informatics discipline and the book is suitable for use as a basic text in both undergraduate and postgraduate curricula. Preparing students for practice as health professionals in any discipline, it deliberately avoids focusing on any one speciality.The publication is divided into six sections: an overview, basic concepts, applications supporting clinical practice, service delivery, management and clinical research and education. With contributions from many distinguished authors, this book is a valuable resource for healthcare professionals and students of health informatics alike.

Techno-Anthropology is an emerging interdisciplinary research field focusing on human/technology interactions and relations, and how these can be understood and facilitated in context. Techno-Anthropology also considers how technological innovation, development and implementation can be made in an appropriate and pragmatic way in relation to understanding work practices.Techno-Anthropology has much to offer the health informatics and eHealth fields, and this book presents the work of experienced international researchers who share here how they have applied Techno-Anthropology methodologies to their research. The book is divided into three sections: ethnographic and anthropological perspectives on methodology; ethical and sociotechnical approaches; and users, participation and human factors. Topics covered include: learning the craft of Techno-Anthropology; anthropological approaches in studying technology induced errors; technology and the ecology of chronic illness in everyday life; Techno-Anthropologists as agents of change; and using rapid ethnography to support the design and implementation of health information technologies, as well as many more.Of interest to researchers and practitioners within the health informatics field as well as students and scholars, the book will inspire researchers and practitioners to examine health informatics from a new perspective.