Health information is data related to a person's medical history. This includes symptoms, diagnoses, procedures, and outcomes. Health records include information such as patient history, lab results, x-rays, clinical information, and notes. Health information can be viewed individually or as a part of a larger data set to understand how a population's health has changed.
Health information management (HIM) is the practice of acquiring, analyzing, and protecting traditional and digital medical information vital to providing quality patient care. Health information management professionals are vital to the daily operations management of health information and electronic health records. HIM professionals ensure a patient's health information and records are complete, accurate, and protected.
Health information technology (HIT) is the framework used to manage health information and the exchange of health information in a digital format. This includes the software and hardware used to manage and store patient data, such as electronic health records.
Health informatics helps define how health information is technically captured, transmitted, and utilized. Health informatics focuses on information systems, informatics principles, and information technology in healthcare delivery. Four areas of research in informatics include Medical/Bio Informatics, Nursing Informatics, Public Health Informatics, and Applied Informatics.
Adapted from "Health Information 101" (AHIMA)
An electronic health record (EHR) is a digital version of a patient's traditional paper chart or health record. EHRs make information (a patient's medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, lab results, etc.) available instantly to authorized users in a secure format. An EHR system is built to go beyond standard clinical data collected from a single provider's office and can be inclusive of a broader view of a patient's care. EHR systems can share information with other health care providers and organizations, such as labs, specialists, medical imaging, pharmacies, emergency facilities, and school and workplace clinics. This can help automate and streamline provider workflow.
Adapted from "What is an electronic health record (EHR)?"
The following resources provide more information EHRs and patient information:
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Data mining, in a broad sense, is the process of finding anomalies, patterns, and correlations within large data sets to predict outcomes. In healthcare, data mining is beneficial in situations where large collections of healthcare data are available. Data mining plays an important role in the detection of fraud and abuse, provides better medical treatments at a reasonable price, helps detect diseases at early stages, and provides intelligent healthcare decision support systems, among other roles.
Some common data mining techniques in healthcare include:
The following article provides more information about these techniques, as well as data mining challenges in healthcare: "Techniques of Data Mining in Healthcare: A Review"
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