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.

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. This book is especially helpful for educators in the field of health/medical informatics.