Biomedical Informatics
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Foundations
Last updated
Biomedical informatics is a trans-disciplinary field that “studies and pursues the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving and decision making, motivated by efforts to improve human health.” []
The origins of biomedical informatics date back to the 1950s. While the name and definition of the field have evolved with advancements in data, technology, and knowledge, the motivations have remained the same: to advance biomedical discovery and healthcare delivery. This discipline broadly involves the development, application, and evaluation of approaches for generating, organizing, managing, analyzing, and sharing data to support clinical care, patient engagement, biomedical research, quality and safety, education, and public health. These approaches are often adapted and integrated from disciplines such as applied mathematics, biostatistics, computer science, cognitive science, data science, implementation science, library and information science, and management science.
There are many sub-disciplines of biomedical informatics such as health informatics that encompasses [,]:
Clinical Research Informatics: Development of approaches for enabling the discovery, management, and evaluation of new health knowledge;
Clinical Informatics: Development and application of techniques to improve health care delivery services (clinical informatics is a subspecialty of the American Board of Medical Specialties);
Consumer Health Informatics: Development of information structures and approaches for supporting patient-centric health care needs; and,
Public Health Informatics: Development of methodologies for supporting public health needs, including surveillance, prevention, preparedness, and health promotion.
The Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom (DIKW) model, established in 1989, serves as a fundamental framework in biomedical informatics and its sub-discipline of health informatics, illustrating the progression from raw data to meaningful knowledge and actionable wisdom within a healthcare context []. Guided by the DIKW model, health informaticians use transdisciplinary approaches and collaborations to advance and .
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