Guide to Health Informatics 2nd Edition
Enrico Coiera
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"required reading for every
physician intending to enter a fellowship program in medical informatics, and
it is also highly recommended to every doctor and medical student interested in
this emerging medical specialty"
JAMA, October 21, 1998. (Click here for
full review)
an "elegant and lucid
textbook... 4 stars(excellent)" British
Medical Journal, 10 January 1998 (Click here for the
full review)
"Coiera has written one of the
best introductions to a new field that I have ever read. He assumes no
expertise regarding either clinical practice or telematics technologies -- so
he gives a basic, yet sophisticated overview of both. The crucial point is the
interface between medicine and technology, and Coiera is such a compelling
author that each and every example of a principle or technique is interesting.
" William Sheridan (Click here for full
review)
"immensley readable and
practical ... this is an insightful book which presents thought-provoking
challenges for us all" Medical
Journal of Australia (Click here
for full review)
" I believe that there is no
other book on medical informatics that is as wide ranging or as readable as
this one...Coiera has set out to give us a book which is both comprehensive and
relevant to practical clinical work while being lively and widely accessible.
In my judgment he has succeeded."
Professor John Fox, Head Biomedical Computing Unit, Imperial Cancer Research
Fund, UK (see below for his full review for Cancer Nursing Journal).
" Very lucid, written in
straightforward language, easily understood by a non-technical person, this (is
an) excellent introduction to informatics" Denis Anthony, School of Health, Faculty of
Medicine, Univ of Birmingham, UK (see below for the full review for Nursing
Standard).
"Finally: a textbook on
medical informatics that is not profoundly soporific! ... Coiera writes in a
conversational style that makes reading the textbook a pleasure...I recommend you
read this book!" Informatics
and Medical Computing Newsletter, Vol.1, No. 6 February 28, 1998.
"It's terrific, and a vast
improvement on the technology-focussed offerings out there. This book deserves
to be widely bought & read if we are to exploit the enormous potential of
information systems to facilitate clinical practice & improve patient
outcomes." Dr Jeremy
Wyatt, co-author of 'Evaluation Methods in Medical Informatics', School of
Public Policy, University College London.
"Coiera not only provides a
clear vision of the future of health informatics but also gives the reader a
lucid introduction to some fundamental concepts ... This is definitely the next
book anyone should invest in when he or she wants to learn more about health
informatics" South
African Medical Journal, October, 1998 (see below for full review).
"most clinicians know very
little about what computers could do in a clinical setting and have therefore
not been able to guide the development of systems down a clinical path. This
book could help change that... I propose that in each hospital a consultant
should take a special interest in IT and that a copy of this book be presented
to them." The British
Journal of Psychiatry (1998), 172 368-369.
"It's
particularly nice to read a book on IT that has a philosophical vein running
through it rather than the usual dry style of so many in this area. I'll be
(and have been) showing it to my friends and students." Rick Jones , Deputy Chair Faculty of Medicine,
Dentistry, Health and Psychology University of Leeds, UK.
Enrico Coiera not only provides a
clear vision of the future of health informatics but also gives the reader a
lucid introduction to some fundamental concepts: data, information, knowledge,
models and systems. His vision is informed by a deep understanding of the
problems of human-machine "communication", and the results of
ergonomics and ethnography. A crucial goal in analysing health information
systems projects is to diagnose those that are (i) impossible, (ii) possible
but impractical; (iii) practical but not desirable; and (iv) practical,
desirable and appropriate.
Too many vendors and system developers
have promised far more than they can hope to deliver, and too many mangers
demand too much from information systems. There are few general principles to
guide us in the differential diagnosis because there are strong forces working
against studies and publication of systems that fail. However Coiera does
attempt to explain why coding systems and artificial intelligence applications
can not live up to the expectations that most people have for them.
Coiera applies valuable insights from
psychology and communications theory to show how information and communication
systems can support clinicians in their work in a variety of settings. He
describes with fascinating examples how the Internet and World Wide Web play
significant roles in health care and communications. This is definitely the
next book anyone should invest in when he or she wants to learn more about
health informatics.
Dr Michael Power, Department of
Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town & Red Cross
Children's Hospital, October, 1998
Star ratings (4 best,
1 worst)
|
Accessibility
(readability) |
4 stars |
|
Value for money |
3 stars |
|
Production quality |
4 stars |
|
User friendliness |
4 stars |
Very lucid, written in straightforward language, easily understood by a non-technical
person, this excellent introduction to informatics covers a wide range of
material, all of which is relevant to nurses. It opens with chapters on models,
information and systems, thus making clear that computing per se is not what
informatics is fundamentally about. Paper information systems, the telephone
and other conventional information systems are discussed and compared with
computer systems. Intranet systems and security are covered, without
specifically referring to NHSNet, thus avoiding parochialism. Other topics
include systems specific to health care, coding, the Internet and clinical
decision systems.
The internet,
telemedicine and medical informatics. Three of the words in the last sentence
were not recognised by the spelling checker in my word processor, which I
bought just a couple of years ago. Yet most nurses will know about, and may
even have used, the internet and the World Wide Web, and many will have heard
of "telemedicine" and "informatics" even if they are not
yet a familiar part of the nurse's daily vocabulary...
The internet will become, if it is not
already, a routine tool for clinical professionals. Many believe that
telemedicine is also destined to become indispensible, providing video
communications and other kinds of remote access to permit specialists to assist
colleagues in dealing with difficult or unusual cases even if they are at the
other side of town - or the other side of the world.
Medical informatics is the branch of
information technology which deals with these subjects, and many other
potentially revolutionary ideas besides. The medical information industry has a
problem though. Nurses and other clinical professionals primarily care for
their patients, not about information technology and haven't the time or
inclination to wade through specialised technical material. Although medical
informatics has enormous implications for the world of medical care there have
been very few introductory texts available which are targeted at busy
clinicians.
The Guide to Medical Informatics, the
Internet and Telemedicine by Enrico Coiera (Chapman and Hall Medical, 1997) is
just such a book. It has been written for "healthcare professionals who
wish to understand the principles and applications of information and
communication systems within healthcare". It covers a wealth of topics,
from basic concepts of information technology to artificial intelligence; from
evidence-based medicine to computerised clinical protocols and guidelines. Not
only is the book wide-ranging and authoritative (Enrico Coiera is a doctor and
a researcher with Hewlett Packard and widely respected in the medical
informatics community) it is easy to read, using clear language and avoiding
technical jargon. It is also thoughtfully designed, providing many informative
diagrams and explanatory boxes to introduce important topics without intruding
on the "story".
Coiera has set out to give us a book
which is both comprehensive and relevant to practical clinical work while being
lively and widely accessible. In my judgment he has succeeded. I believe that
there is no other book on medical informatics that is as wide ranging or as
readable as this one - though to be sure of that of course I ought to surf the
net!
Professor John Fox Head Biomedical
Computing Unit Imperial Cancer Research Fund, UK
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ewc@pobox.com ©
Enrico Coiera 1997-2003
updated
10 Oct 03