Understanding health care informatics is critical for everyday practitioners, administrators, and students because it helps them apply modern technology to improve health care. Instead of struggling with technology or overlooking its potential, readers of this book will learn to use information tools to enhance the clinical decision-making process.

Health Care Informatics: A Skills-Based Resource teaches readers how to make better use of such computer-related health care tools as the Internet, telecommunication, handheld devices, and point-of-care technology. Detailed chapters take readers through the practical application of specific concepts, providing objectives and activities that target key skills.

Key Features:
Sixteen detailed chapters grounding health professionals in everything from computer hardware and software to health care information systems, telecommunications, the Internet, literature retrieval, evidence-based medicine, patient education, and information security.
--Practical and accessible knowledge presented for both the computer-savvy and those less comfortable with today’s information technologies.
--Activities in each chapter that help you develop and apply health care informatics skills.
--Chapter objectives that help instructors target material for classroom use.

Table of Contents:
Preface
About the Authors
Chapter 1 What is Informatics?
Chapter 2 Computer and Network Basics
Chapter 3 Data Processing in Health Care
Chapter 4 Information Systems in Health Care
Chapter 5 The Internet
Chapter 6 Telecommunication in Health Care
Chapter 7 Point of Care Technology
Chapter 8 Literature Retrieval
Chapter 9 Finding Resources Electronically
Chapter 10 Evaluating the Literature
Chapter 11 Tools for Bringing Evidence into Practice
Chapter 12 Telehealth
Chapter 13 E-commerce
Chapter 14 Patient and Professional Education
Chapter 15 Privacy, Security, HIPAA, and Related Matters
Chapter 16 The Future of Health Care Informatics
Glossary
Annotated Bibliography of Online Glossaries
Index