Mental Health Informatics

Book excerpt: This textbook provides a detailed resource introducing the subdiscipline of mental health informatics. It systematically reviews the methods, paradigms, tools and knowledge base in both clinical and bioinformatics and across the spectrum from research to clinical care. Key foundational technologies, such as terminologies, ontologies and data exchange standards are presented and given context within the complex landscape of mental health conditions, research and care. The learning health system model is utilized to emphasize the bi-directional nature of the translational science associated with mental health processes. Descriptions of the data, technologies, paradigms and products that are generated by and used in each process and their limitations are discussed. Mental Health Informatics: Enabling a Learning Mental Healthcare System is a comprehensive introductory resource for students, educators and researchers in mental health informatics and related behavioral sciences. It is an ideal resource for use in a survey course for both pre- and post-doctoral training programs, as well as for healthcare administrators, funding entities, vendors and product developers working to make mental healthcare more evidence-based.