Biomedical Informatics: Information Systems in Medicine and Health

Biomedical informatics is a field of information engineering that has applications in healthcare, particularly in the management and use of healthcare information. It is an interdisciplinary study that involves the design, adoption, development and IT-based innovations in healthcare services planning, delivery and management. Some of the tools of biomedical informatics are information and communication systems, computers, clinical guidelines, etc. It has applications in the areas of clinical medicine, pharmacy, nursing, public health, occupational therapy, biomedical research and physical therapy, among others. Some of the sub-fields of biomedical informatics are pathology informatics, imaging informatics, community health informatics, consumer health informatics, etc. Translational bioinformatics is an emerging field that integrates bio-statistics, molecular bioinformatics, clinical informatics and statistical genetics. It strives to identify the linkages between biological and clinical information, and enable better approaches to the study and treatment of diseases. This book explores all the important aspects of biomedical informatics in the present day scenario. The various studies that are constantly contributing towards advancing technologies and evolution of this field are examined in detail. The readers would gain knowledge that would broaden their perspective about the use of information systems in medicine and health.