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Peer-reviewed publication of scientific research results represents the most important means of their communication. The authors have annually reviewed a large heterogeneous set of papers to produce the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Yearbook of Medical Informatics. To support an objective and high-quality review process, the authors attempted to provide reviewers with a set of refined quality criteria, comprised of 80 general criteria and an additional 60 criteria for specific [...]

The noninquisitive critiquing system, AsthmaCritic, uses routinely recorded electronic patient data to select and analyze records of patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The system generates critiquing comments and adds these comments to the patient record. The system was developed by using and expanding an existing generic critiquing system. After a brief overview of the system, this report focuses on the authors' design choices in light of [...]

The aim of this study was to determine the effect that the computer interpretation (CI) of electrocardiograms (EKGs) has on the accuracy of resident (noncardiologist) physicians reading EKGs.

Paper-based and electronic patient records generally are used in parallel to support different tasks. Many studies comparing their quality do not report sufficiently on the methods used. Few studies refer to the patient. Instead, most regard the paper record as the gold standard. Focusing on quality criteria, the current study compared the two records patient by patient, presuming that each might hold unique advantages. For surgical patients at a nonuniversity [...]

The EAV/CR framework, designed for database support of rapidly evolving scientific domains, utilizes metadata to facilitate schema maintenance and automatic generation of Web-enabled browsing interfaces to the data. EAV/CR is used in SenseLab, a neuroscience database that is part of the national Human Brain Project. This report describes various enhancements to the framework. These include (1) the ability to create "portals" that present different subsets of the schema to users [...]

The aim of this study was to determine whether physician offices located in high-minority and low-income neighborhoods have different levels of access to information technology than offices located in lower-minority and higher-income areas.

The National Retail Data Monitor receives data daily from 10,000 stores, including pharmacies, that sell health care products. These stores belong to national chains that process sales data centrally and utilize Universal Product Codes and scanners to collect sales information at the cash register. The high degree of retail sales data automation enables the monitor to collect information from thousands of store locations in near to real time for use [...]

The authors implemented an electronic medical record system in a rural Kenyan health center. Visit data are recorded on a paper encounter form, eliminating duplicate documentation in multiple clinic logbooks. Data are entered into an MS-Access database supported by redundant power systems. The system was initiated in February 2001, and 10,000 visit records were entered for 6,190 patients in six months. The authors present a summary of the clinics visited [...]

An essential part of health informatics is telemedicine, the use of advanced telecommunications technologies to bridge distance and support health care delivery and education. This report discusses the integration of telemedicine into a medical informatics curriculum and, specifically, a framework for a telemedicine course. Within this framework, the objectives and exit competencies are presented and course sections are described: definitions, introduction to technical aspects of telemedicine, evolution of telemedicine and [...]

Physician order entry is a powerful function of a computerized hospital information system. Although designed to be clinician-driven, the imaging section of the order entry system may not be designed optimally to engage the clinician with imaging procedures logically organized for the clinician's typical work patterns. There also may be resistance among overburdened clinicians in having to take the time to learn a new computer system and to assume "clerk's [...]