THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
HEALTH INFORMATICS
LIS 385T.14 45070
SPRING 2002
Thur 3:00-6:00pm; SZB 464
Professor Glynn Harmon
Office: SZB 562D
Phone: 471-3972; Fax: 471-3971
gharmon@gslis.utexas.edu
I.
Course Description
Provides a seminar-oriented overview of health informatics – the study of
information resources and their utilization and impact within the basic biomedical
sciences and within healthcare practice, education, research, administration, and
enterprise. Covers the past development, current status, and future development of
health informatics, including recurring themes, technological applications, key
information resources and organizations, and advancement of the field’s
knowledge.
V.
Objectives, Requirements and Grading
1. To acquire a working knowledge of information resources that support health
informatics practice, research and education. Requirement: A short Annotated
Pathfinder to key information resources of the field (30% of course grade).
2. To understand specific recurring themes in health informatics, current
technological applications, and probable future trends. Requirement: Leadership
of seminar – like discussion of two selected textbook chapters and two one-page
summaries that serve to update the chapters (40% of grade).
3. To understand health informatics as a professional field and academic
discipline, and to prepare to contribute to the advancement of its knowledge.
Requirement: Final, open-book exam or submission of a preliminary draft of a
journal article, conference paper, or research (20% of grade).
4. To participate actively and constructively in presentation discussions and other
course activities (10% of grade).
VI. Required Textbook
1. Shorliffe, E. H. and Perreault, L. E. (eds.). (2001) Medical Informatics:
Computer Applications in Health Care. (3rd. ed.)
NY. Springer. ISBN: 0-387-98472-0 Note the Bibliography and Glossary.
1
VII. SUPPLEMENTARY SOURCES (not required)
1.
Coiera, E. (1997). Guide to Medical Informatics, the Internet and Telemedicine.
London: Arnold/Holder Headline Group.
2.
Riegelman, R.K. and Hirsch, R.P. (1996). Studying a Study and Testing a Test: How
to Read the Health Science Literature. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.
3.
Friedland, D.J. and others. (1998). Evidence based Medicine: A Framework for
Clinical Practice. Stamford, CT: Appleton & Lang.
4.
Blois, M.S. (1984). Information and Medicine: The Nature of Medical Description.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
5.
Weed, L.L. (1991). Knowledge Coupling: New Premises and New Tools for
Medical Care and Education. NY: Springer-Verlag.
6.
Culter, P. (1995). Problem Solving in Clinical Medicine from Data to Diagnosis.
2ded. Baltimore: William & Wilkins.
7.
Ball, M.J. and others, eds. (1999). Performance Improvement through Information
Management: Health. NY: Springer-Verlag.
8.
Kane, R.L. (1997). Understanding Health Care Outcomes Research. Murray, UT:
Aspen Publications.
9.
Davis, J.B. (ed.). (2000). The Annual Consumer’s Guide to Health and Medicine on
The Internet 2000. Los Angeles, CA: Health Information Press.
10. Workshop on Alternative Medicine. (1992). Alternative Medicine: Expanding
Medical Horizons. A Report to the National Institutes of Health on Alternative
Medical Systems and Practices in the US. Washington, DC: US Government
Printing Office.
11. Goldstein, D. E. (2000). E-Healthcare: Harness the Power of Internet e-Commerce
& e-Care. Gaitersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers.
12. Warner, H.R. and others. (1997). Knowledge Engineering in Health Informatics.
NY: Springer-Verlag.
13. Detwiler, S.M. (2000). Super Searchers on Health & Medicine: The Online Secrets
of Top Health and Medical Researches. (ed. By Reva Basch). Medford, NJ:
Information Today.
2
VIII. INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF REQUIREMENTS
1.
Short Annotated Pathfinder to Health Informatics Information Resources. The
purpose of the Pathfinder is to help you and your colleagues to find resources that
are useful in advancing health informatics practice, education and research, and to
further your own career advancement. You may develop your Annotated Pathfinder
individually or with no more than one classmate partner (partners receive the same
grade). Pathfinders should be no shorter than 5 pages nor longer than 10 pages,
typed single spaced. The annotations need not be lengthy, since the function of the
Pathfinder is to serve as a reminder of, and directory to, key health informatics
resources. The Pathfinder should be useful in completing all other requirements for
the course. One page of annotations is recommended for each of the following five
classes of information resources:
(1) Associations. A brief description of the mission, programs, special interest group
(SIGs), working groups, publications, career opportunities, links to other
organizations and resources, and other features that you deem important, of the
American Medical Information Association, www.amia.ora, and the Medical
Library Association, www.mlanet.org. It is important to be thoroughly familiar
with these portals.
(2) Federal research and services sponsors. A brief description of the mission,
research units and programs, service units and programs, and information
resources of the National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov (note its Center for
Information Technology, Center for Scientific Review, National Center for
Research Resources, National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine, and other Institutes). Likewise, briefly describe the National Library
of Medicine’s (www.nlm.nih.gov) mission, units, etc. Note especially its
extramural research programs, informatics training programs, bioinformatics
research programs.
(3) Evidence-based health care sites. A brief description of the highly useful
resources of an evidence-based resource like one of the following:
www.urmc.rochester.edu/Minder/Links/eBMlinks.html;
www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/info_serve/pathfinders/ebm/; or
www.shef.ac.uk/~scharr/ir/netting.html. Note the DARE and Cochrane
resources, among others.
(4) An anthology of supersearcher’s online resources. Briefly describe the online
classes of health and medicine resources available from
www.infotoday.com/supersearchers. It is strongly recommended that you print
this list for future reference. The list is also in item #13 in Section IV.
Supplementary Sources, above.
3
V.
INSTRUCTIONS (continued)
1
Pathfinder (continued)
(5) Pubmed (MEDLINE) search interface. A user tutorial is available at this site:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ Go to the databases, then PubMed, and then
to the sidebar under (Enterez PubMed) to access the tutorial. You should go
through all eight modules, which should take 1-2 hours, and briefly annotate
some useful pathfinder tips for searching MEDLINE.
Pathfinders will be grades on the basis of their apparent helpfulness in guiding
research, professional practice and health education, and in completing other course
requirements (leading discussions, updating chapters, framing an article or research
proposal, doing the final exam, etc.). Pathfinder grades count for up to 30% of the
course grade (6% per section). Please submit two copies to the instructor by
Thursday, February 28. Do not include pint outs of web pages (only your
annotations).
2.
Discussion Leadership on Recurrent Theme or the Years Ahead. First,
study your selected textbook chapter (from among chapters 1-8) on a recurrent
theme, or on the years ahead (chapter 19 or 20), prepare a very brief summary, and
select at least one discussion question from the beginning of your chapter and at
least one from the “Questions for Discussion” at the end of your chapter. Second,
conduct an information search to update your chapter and write a one-page
summary. On the assigned class date, present a brief (say 5 minute) summary of the
chapter, present your update and lead a seminar-like discussion. We will devote
about 30-40 minutes to reviewing and discussing each chapter. Assume that
everyone has already read the chapter, so that we can more thoroughly probe the
discussion questions and some interesting issues. Chapters 8, 19 and 20 should be
helpful in our analyses.
Submit your one-page chapter update to the instructor before or after the class
session in which you lead the discussion (given the lack of lead time, those who lead
discussions for chapters 1-4 may submit their chapter updates by February 14).
Discussion leadership will be graded on the basis of apparent effectiveness in
presenting issues and stimulating productive discussion, while chapter updates will
be graded according to quality of the update (recognition of significant landmarks,
problems and trends) and evidence presented. Discussion leadership counts for 10%
of the course grade and the update for 10% (total 20%).
4
3.
Discussion Leadership on Medical Computing Applications. The instructions in
item #2 above likewise apply to leading a discussion on your selected chapter on
technologies applications (from among chapters 9-18), as do the grading criteria.
Again, discussion leadership counts for 10% and chapter updates for 10% of the
course grade (total 20%). Submit your one page chapter update immediately before or
after the session in which you lead the discussion.
4. Final, open-book Exam (or draft of journal article, conference paper, or
research proposal). The final exam will be derived from chapter discussion
questions, class discussions of issues, problems, and trends, and the useful features of
informatics information resources and technologies. It will be administered in openbook style, and will consist of about four or five questions. The final exam is
tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 11, 2-5pm (location TBA).
As an alternative to taking the final exam, you may submit a draft of either a short
journal article, conference paper or research proposal. In the case of journal articles,
drafts must be formatted to the editorial form and style and submission guidelines.
Likewise, a conference paper draft must comply with the specific submission
requirements of the conference targeted. Research proposals should comply with the
submission requirements and guidelines of the targeted funding agency. These drafts
are due at the conclusion of the final exam time above.
Both the exam and paper/proposal drafts will count for 20% of the course grade.
VI.
COURSE POLICIES
1. Class breaks are not a good time to raise questions or problems with the instructor
since this can delay restarting the class. When possible, questions about course or
class matter should be raised directly during the class (or after class), so that problems
can be confronted immediately and everyone is given the same information.
2. In fairness to those who complete work on time, a penalty will be assessed for late
work.
3. Because the instructor welcomes your comments about the course, an informal course
survey will be given during the term, and a formal one given at the end of the
semester. You may also comment directly or anonymously in writing at any time.
Specific comments are more useful than vague one.
4. Please read, ahead of time, the assigned readings to be addressed in the class. It is
helpful to bring the currently assigned textbook or other readings to class for
discussion or reference purposes.
5. Incompletes will be given only for highly exceptional circumstances that can be
documented or verified.
5
VII.
Thursday
COURSE CALENDAR
January 17

Introduction to course

Textbook and readings

Review of AMIA and MLA sites

Review of NIH and NLM sites

Assignment of initial discussion leaders
January 24

Introductions and biographies

Review of information resources

Further review of AMIA, NLM, NIH, NLM portals

Drawing for Chapters 1-8, 19 and 20

Assignment of reading: Chapters 1 & 2

Discussion of Pathfinder assignment
January 31

Discussion of Chapter 1: Emergence of Informatics

Discussion of Chapter 2: Medical Data

Evidence-based movement

Online resources

Discussion of Pathfinder assignment

Drawing for Chapters 9-18
February 7

Discussion of Ch. 3: Decision Making and Reasoning

Discussion of Ch. 4: Medical Computing/Information Architecture

PDAs

Discussion of Pathfinder assignment

Guest Presentation
February 14

Meet at UT Faculty Center at 3:30pm: 25th and Guadalupe Streets (Northwest
Corner) 2nd Floor Lobby

Meet with Graduate Business School Health Administration Class

Research presentation by Harmon and Nauert: “Technology Consumer-Provider
Interaction: Diabetes Interventions in South Texas Populations.”
February 21

Discussion of Ch. 5: System Engineering

Discussion of Ch. 6: Standards

Discussion of Information resources/Pathfinders
6
February 28

Discussion of Ch. 7: Ethics, Standards, Outcomes

Discussion of Ch. 8: Evaluation and Technology Assessment

Pathfinder assignment due. Submit 2 copies
March 7

Discussion of Ch. 9: Computer Patient Records

Discussion of Ch. 10: Integrated Delivery networks

Discussion of Pathfinders

Discussion of final exam and alternatives
March 14
No class – spring break!
March 21

Discussion of Ch. 11: Public Health/Consumers

Discussion of Ch. 12: Patient Care Systems

Discussion of Ch. 13: Patient Monitoring Systems
March 28

Discussion of Ch. 14: Imaging Systems

Discussion of Ch. 15: Information Retrieval Systems

Discussion of research and publishing opportunities
April 4

Discussion of Ch. 16: Clinical Decision Support

Discussion of Ch. 17: Informatics in Education

Discussion of PDAs

Artificial Intelligence
April 11

Discussion of Ch. 18: Bioinformatics

Discussion of Ch. 19: Future Development of Informatics

Guest lecturer

Discussion of research, publishing and career advancement
April 18

Discussion of Ch. 20: Future of health Informatics

Discussion of final exam questions, research and publishing

Nobel laureate discovery and information seeking patterns
April 25

Review of basic concepts and technologies

Possible research breakthroughs

Significance of the Complementary Medicine Movement
7
May 2 (last class)

Discussion of final exam and alternative projects
May 11, Saturday, 2-5pm, Location to be announced
 Final Exam
 Drafts of journal or conference article or research proposal due
8