Health Information Systems

Book excerpt: Previously published as Strategic Information Management in Hospitals; An Introduction to Hospital Information Systems, Health Information Systems Architectures and Strategies is a definitive volume written by four authoritative voices in medical informatics. Illustrating the importance of hospital information management in delivering high quality health care at the lowest possible cost, this book provides the essential resources needed by the medical informatics specialist to understand and successfully manage the complex nature of hospital information systems. Author of the first edition's Foreword, Reed M. Gardner, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Medical Informatics, University of Utah and LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, applauded the text's focus on the underlying administrative systems that are in place in hospitals throughout the world. He wrote, "These challenging systems that acquire, process and manage the patient's clinical information. Hospital information systems provide a major part of the information needed by those paying for health care." their components; health information systems; architectures of hospital information systems; and organizational structures for information management.