Health Informatics

Health informatics (also referred to as medical informatics or biomedical informatics) is an interdisciplinary field that deals with health-related data in healthcare and with the technologies that are used to support healthcare services. While the goal of some health informatics systems is to automate processes, the more common goal is to help clinicians, patients, policymakers, and others to manage health information, and to communicate that information efficiently and effectively to end users. Thus, there is considerable overlap between the fields of health informatics and health communication, and this intriguing intersection between the two fields opens many opportunities for innovation. Health communication is often visible in health informatics in the area of patient communication. Examples of this include patient self-management tools that support behavior change. Correspondingly, health informatics is often visible in health communication in the use of computational methods and “big data” to build on communication theory. Future research in health communication will likely involve more and more intensive use of information technology. This can bring exciting new possibilities for both interventions and analytical techniques, yet researchers should ensure that information technology interventions respect participants' privacy and guarantee their safety. Investigating the effect of information technology on communications between healthcare professionals and with patients also offers interesting opportunities for collaborative research.