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Variations research is one important strategy in the quality management movement designed to improve the quality of health care and to control costs. Information systems are being utilized in variations research to provide an array of potential variables, to provide measures of the variability inherent in these variables, and to assist with the study of the linkages of patient and provider characteristics with interventions and outcomes. This article presents a [...]

Health care delivery systems and organizations around the world are undergoing reorganization and reengineering. Rational decision making about such activities must be based on information. Much of the presently available data is inadequate for this task, and therefore needs to be transformed. One such experience in the province of Alberta, Canada, is discussed. The development of a comprehensive information strategy, the need to apply information management principles, the organizational implications [...]

Assess the performance of the SAPHIRE automated information retrieval system.

To analyze the terms used by nurses in a variety of data sources and to test the feasibility of using SNOMED III to represent nursing terms.

Develop a knowledge-based representation for a controlled terminology of clinical information to facilitate creation, maintenance, and use of the terminology.

Careful study of medical informatics research and library-resource projects is necessary to increase the productivity of the research and development enterprise. Medical informatics research projects can present unique problems with respect to evaluation. It is not always possible to adapt directly the evaluation methods that are commonly employed in the natural and social sciences. Problems in evaluating medical informatics projects may be overcome by formulating system development work in terms [...]

A major obstacle to establishing a computer-stored medical record is the lack of "standards" that would permit government, care providers, insurance companies, and medical computer system developers to share patient data easily. In this position paper, the Board of Directors of the American Medical Informatics Association recommends specific approaches to standardization in the areas of patient, provider, and site of care identifiers; computerized health care message exchange; medical record content [...]