health informatics in medical education

8/4/2019 Health Informatics in Medical Education

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Implementation of Health Informatics inMedical Education

Dr.T.V.Rao MDProfessor of Microbiology

Travancore Medical College, Kollam. Kerala

Health informatics is the constituent of Informationand Communication Technology, the field that concerns itself with thecognitive, information processing and communication tasks of medicalpractice, education, and research, including the information science andthe technology to support these tasks. It is an intrinsically interdisciplinaryfield, with a highly applied focus, but it also addresses a number offundamental research problems as well as planning and policy issues.Academic units of medical informatics are being established with basis ofInformation and Communication Technology at a number of medicalcolleges and Institutions. Medical informatics professionals are beingsought to serve on faculties and hospital staffs, and medical informaticsemerging as a distinct academic entity.

Information and communication technology iscomprised of computers, networks, satellite communications, robotics,

videotext, cable television, electronic mail ("e-mail"), and automated officeequipment. Developments in information and communication technologies(ICT) have resulted in an increasing use of these technologies in thepractice of medicine and in the provision of medical care.The gap betweenthe developed and the developing world that exists in information andcommunication services is also present in a rather dramatic fashion in thehealth sector. The health sector is about fifteen years behind other sectorsin application of information and communication technologies. Computersare increasingly affordable; they continue to be more powerful asinformation-processing tools as well as easier to use. The rapid emergenceof the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has placedIndia on the global stage during the last one and a half decades, evencompeting with Developed Nation.

Early academic units for "medical" or "health"informatics tended to focus on application of informatics to support clinical


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practice and clinical research; often, at many well organised institutions,academic units devoted to bioinformatics and clinical informatics evolvedseparately.

As we have to use information and

communication technologies (ICT) in education but how to do so, and how

to ensure equitable access for teachers and learners, ICT removes

problems concerning space and time.Computers are increasingly used in

medical education. Electronic learning (e-learning) is moving from

textbooks in electronic format (that are increasingly enhanced by the use of

multimedia adjuncts) to a truly interactive medium that can be delivered to

meet the educational needs of students and postgraduate learners

the students can communicate anywhere, any time the students can contact the teacher anywhere, any time the students can collect and exchange information anywhere,

any time ICT gives access to knowledge

in principle the students can draw on a global pool ofknowledge

ICT makes saving and sharing knowledge easier the students can, individually and/or together create records of

notes and presentations (portfolio) and thus register theirprogress and use it for exams

Several studies proved that empowering students with resources from

ICT makes Learning for Life

Awareness of learning strategies Acting responsibly in improving the personal and professional

standards Adopting to increasingly globalized world

Communication of knowledge across geographical and culturalborders makes the strengths of ours to global population.

Formulating his/her own goals for the learning process

Controlling the personal learning process


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Finding relevant information

Organizing and formulating knowledge on their own

Production of knowledge rather than just re-production.

The following are identified as important challenges, and should

be incorporated and addressed in the curriculum and training.

The first challenge

We have to prepare future physicians for the changing behaviours ofpatients, who are increasingly Internet-savvy and who sometimes appear to

know more about their diseases than their own teachers.

The second challenge

This is closely linked to the first, is to raise awareness among physiciansand Medical students in training of the many benefits of using ICT toImprove not only the quality of interventions and health care delivery but,from a broader perspective, the organization of the health care system itself

The third challenge

Is to motivate medical students and practitioners to use ICT to findinformation, learn and develop. It is proposed that informationLiteracy should be a mandatory skill for all medical students. The e-learningmode of training is also addressed. Although underemployed in mostmedical faculties, it represents the future of initial and continuous medicaltraining. Virtual resources and communities, simulations and 3D animationsare also discussed.

The fourth challenge.

A further challenge inherent to the use of ICT in medical education is howto implement this innovation into teaching and learning

Information literacy


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Should be considered a mandatory skill in the training of all physicians.

E-learning, although not yet very widespread in, Medical education,

represents the future of initial and continuous medical training. Tools

such as virtual simulators, 3D animations, and virtual communities ande-portfolios are important innovations that will have a growing impact

on medical education and practice

Objectives: To train all the Medical students and Faculty in the Medicalinformation and Technology

All the Medical students and Faculty should be trained in the followingtopics with necessary lectures and Demonstration on

1 Computer and power of computers in the science and medicine

2 Use of Internet, Modern methods in Internet search

3 Information and communication technology for Medical professionals

4. Retrieval of Medical information

5. e-learning in Medicine

6. Podcasting and Video casting in Medicine

7. Contributing and sharing our knowledge on World Wide Web.

Information and Communication Technologies havebecome an essential part of modern healthcare delivery system to gaingreater efficiency, reduce overall health care and patient safety, as per the

research analysis the implementation of interoperable health IT improvesindividual patient care and results effectively in public health benefitsincluding early detection of infectious diseases, out brakes around thecountry. India is going for rapid expansion of Medical colleges andInstitutions, Many senior teachers have to adapt to newer methods oftraining and teaching the students or else it is difficult to cope up with thespeed of changes taking place in every branch of Medicine. Medical


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informatics certainly helps to fill the gaps in teaching methods. Training ourMedicos in ICT will change the perceptions of Health care and Deliverysystem.

Email; [email protected]

health informatics in medical education

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