Integrated set of files, procedures, and equipment for the storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information.

Integrated, computer-assisted systems designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information concerned with the administrative and clinical aspects of providing medical services within the hospital.

Computer systems capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying geographically referenced information, i.e. data identified according to their locations.

Systems designed to provide information primarily concerned with the administrative functions associated with the provision and utilization of services; also includes program planning, etc.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of radiology services and facilities.

A system for the collection and/or processing of data from various sources, and using the information for policy making and management of health services. It could be paper-based or electronic. (From http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTHEALTHNUTRITIONANDPOPULATION/EXTHSD/0,,contentMDK:22239824~menuPK:376799~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:376793,00.html. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/systems/en/)

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative and clinical activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical laboratory services.

Computer-based systems for input, storage, display, retrieval, and printing of information contained in a patient's medical record.

Systems composed of a computer or computers, peripheral equipment, such as disks, printers, and terminals, and telecommunications capabilities.

The procedures involved in combining separately developed modules, components, or subsystems so that they work together as a complete system. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of ambulatory care services and facilities.

A system containing any combination of computers, computer terminals, printers, audio or visual display devices, or telephones interconnected by telecommunications equipment or cables: used to transmit or receive information. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

The systematic application of information and computer sciences to public health practice, research, and learning.

Computer-based systems that enable management to interrogate the computer on an ad hoc basis for various kinds of information in the organization, which predict the effect of potential decisions.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of operating room services and facilities.

The portion of an interactive computer program that issues messages to and receives commands from a user.

Communications using an active or passive satellite to extend the range of radio, television, or other electronic transmission by returning signals to earth from an orbiting satellite.

Hospital department which is responsible for the administration and provision of x-ray diagnostic and therapeutic services.

Organized procedures for establishing patient identity, including use of bracelets, etc.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, designed to store, manipulate, and retrieve information for planning, organizing, directing, and controlling administrative activities associated with the provision and utilization of clinical pharmacy services.

Protective measures against unauthorized access to or interference with computer operating systems, telecommunications, or data structures, especially the modification, deletion, destruction, or release of data in computers. It includes methods of forestalling interference by computer viruses or so-called computer hackers aiming to compromise stored data.

The systematic surveying, mapping, charting, and description of specific geographical sites, with reference to the physical features that were presumed to influence health and disease. Medical topography should be differentiated from EPIDEMIOLOGY in that the former emphasizes geography whereas the latter emphasizes disease outbreaks.

Computer-based information systems used to integrate clinical and patient information and provide support for decision-making in patient care.

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of medical data through the application of computers to various aspects of health care and medicine.

Data recorded by nurses concerning the nursing care given to the patient, including judgment of the patient's progress.

Management of the acquisition, organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of information. (From Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, 1994)

Representations, normally to scale and on a flat medium, of a selection of material or abstract features on the surface of the earth, the heavens, or celestial bodies.

The attitude and behavior associated with an individual using the computer.

A concept, developed in 1983 under the aegis of and supported by the National Library of Medicine under the name of Integrated Academic Information Management Systems, to provide professionals in academic health sciences centers and health sciences institutions with convenient access to an integrated and comprehensive network of knowledge. It addresses a wide cross-section of users from administrators and faculty to students and clinicians and has applications to planning, clinical and managerial decision-making, teaching, and research. It provides access to various types of clinical, management, educational, etc., databases, as well as to research and bibliographic databases. In August 1992 the name was changed from Integrated Academic Information Management Systems to Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems to reflect use beyond the academic milieu.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

Sequential operating programs and data which instruct the functioning of a digital computer.

Specifications and instructions applied to the software.

Organized activities related to the storage, location, search, and retrieval of information.

The science dealing with the earth and its life, especially the description of land, sea, and air and the distribution of plant and animal life, including humanity and human industries with reference to the mutual relations of these elements. (From Webster, 3d ed)

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

Use of an interactive computer system designed to assist the physician or other health professional in choosing between certain relationships or variables for the purpose of making a diagnostic or therapeutic decision.

The electronic transmission of radiological images from one location to another for the purposes of interpretation and/or consultation. Users in different locations may simultaneously view images with greater access to secondary consultations and improved continuing education. (From American College of Radiology, ACR Standard for Teleradiology, 1994, p3)

Description of pattern of recurrent functions or procedures frequently found in organizational processes, such as notification, decision, and action.

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of data through the application of computers applied to the field of nursing.

Use of computers or computer systems for doing routine clerical work, e.g., billing, records pertaining to the administration of the office, etc.

The study and practice of medicine by direct examination of the patient.

Organized collections of computer records, standardized in format and content, that are stored in any of a variety of computer-readable modes. They are the basic sets of data from which computer-readable files are created. (from ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

Management of the acquisition, organization, retrieval, and dissemination of health information.

Introduction of changes which are new to the organization and are created by management.

Small computers using LSI (large-scale integration) microprocessor chips as the CPU (central processing unit) and semiconductor memories for compact, inexpensive storage of program instructions and data. They are smaller and less expensive than minicomputers and are usually built into a dedicated system where they are optimized for a particular application. "Microprocessor" may refer to just the CPU or the entire microcomputer.

Automated systems applied to the patient care process including diagnosis, therapy, and systems of communicating medical data within the health care setting.

Software designed to store, manipulate, manage, and control data for specific uses.

The visual display of data in a man-machine system. An example is when data is called from the computer and transmitted to a CATHODE RAY TUBE DISPLAY or LIQUID CRYSTAL display.

Process of teaching a person to interact and communicate with a computer.

Descriptions and evaluations of specific health care organizations.

Organized services to provide information on any questions an individual might have using databases and other sources. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Media that facilitate transportability of pertinent information concerning patient's illness across varied providers and geographic locations. Some versions include direct linkages to online consumer health information that is relevant to the health conditions and treatments related to a specific patient.

Management of the organization of HEALTH FACILITIES.

The creation and maintenance of medical and vital records in multiple institutions in a manner that will facilitate the combined use of the records of identified individuals.

Techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties.

The privacy of information and its protection against unauthorized disclosure.

Communications networks connecting various hardware devices together within or between buildings by means of a continuous cable or voice data telephone system.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

Coordination of activities and programs among health care institutions within defined geographic areas for the purpose of improving delivery and quality of medical care to the patients. These programs are mandated under U.S. Public Law 89-239.

Computerized compilations of information units (text, sound, graphics, and/or video) interconnected by logical nonlinear linkages that enable users to follow optimal paths through the material and also the systems used to create and display this information. (From Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, 1994)

The transmission of messages to staff and patients within a hospital.

Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.

Computer programs based on knowledge developed from consultation with experts on a problem, and the processing and/or formalizing of this knowledge using these programs in such a manner that the problems may be solved.

The capacity of an organization, institution, or business to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, personnel, materiel, etc.

Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a benefit or service received.

Special hospitals which provide care for ill children.

Evaluation of biomedical technology in relation to cost, efficacy, utilization, etc., and its future impact on social, ethical, and legal systems.

Specific languages used to prepare computer programs.

Elements of residence that characterize a population. They are applicable in determining need for and utilization of health services.

Systems where the input data enter the computer directly from the point of origin (usually a terminal or workstation) and/or in which output data are transmitted directly to that terminal point of origin. (Sippl, Computer Dictionary, 4th ed)

Familiarity and comfort in using computers efficiently.

Data processing largely performed by automatic means.

The broad dissemination of new ideas, procedures, techniques, materials, and devices and the degree to which these are accepted and used.

Medical complexes consisting of medical school, hospitals, clinics, libraries, administrative facilities, etc.

A specified list of terms with a fixed and unalterable meaning, and from which a selection is made when CATALOGING; ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING; or searching BOOKS; JOURNALS AS TOPIC; and other documents. The control is intended to avoid the scattering of related subjects under different headings (SUBJECT HEADINGS). The list may be altered or extended only by the publisher or issuing agency. (From Harrod's Librarians' Glossary, 7th ed, p163)

Enumerations of populations usually recording identities of all persons in every place of residence with age or date of birth, sex, occupation, national origin, language, marital status, income, relation to head of household, information on the dwelling place, education, literacy, health-related data (e.g., permanent disability), etc. The census or "numbering of the people" is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. Among the Romans, censuses were intimately connected with the enumeration of troops before and after battle and probably a military necessity. (From Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 3d ed; Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, p66, p119)

Creating a representation of areas of the earth or other celestial bodies, for the purpose of visualizing spatial distributions of various information.

Devices, manned and unmanned, which are designed to be placed into an orbit about the Earth or into a trajectory to another celestial body. (NASA Thesaurus, 1988)

Professional society representing the field of nursing.

Notification or reporting by a physician or other health care provider of the occurrence of specified contagious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV infections to designated public health agencies. The United States system of reporting notifiable diseases evolved from the Quarantine Act of 1878, which authorized the US Public Health Service to collect morbidity data on cholera, smallpox, and yellow fever; each state in the US has its own list of notifiable diseases and depends largely on reporting by the individual health care provider. (From Segen, Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 1992)

A specialty concerned with the use of x-ray and other forms of radiant energy in the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

The structuring of the environment to permit or promote specific patterns of behavior.

A statistically significant excess of cases of a disease, occurring within a limited space-time continuum.

Information systems, usually computer-assisted, that enable providers to initiate medical procedures, prescribe medications, etc. These systems support medical decision-making and error-reduction during patient care.

The application of industrial management practice to systematically maintain and improve organization-wide performance. Effectiveness and success are determined and assessed by quantitative quality measures.

Theoretical representations and constructs that describe or explain the structure and hierarchy of relationships and interactions within or between formal organizational entities or informal social groups.

A management function in which standards and guidelines are developed for the development, maintenance, and handling of forms and records.

Management of public health organizations or agencies.

Precise procedural mathematical and logical operations utilized in the study of medical information pertaining to health care.

A type of MICROCOMPUTER, sometimes called a personal digital assistant, that is very small and portable and fitting in a hand. They are convenient to use in clinical and other field situations for quick data management. They usually require docking with MICROCOMPUTERS for updates.

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

The terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.

Individuals responsible for various duties pertaining to the medical office routine.

The means of moving persons, animals, goods, or materials from one place to another.

Laboratory and other services provided to patients at the bedside. These include diagnostic and laboratory testing using automated information entry.

Recording of pertinent information concerning patient's illness or illnesses.

Activities and programs intended to assure or improve the quality of care in either a defined medical setting or a program. The concept includes the assessment or evaluation of the quality of care; identification of problems or shortcomings in the delivery of care; designing activities to overcome these deficiencies; and follow-up monitoring to ensure effectiveness of corrective steps.

The analysis of an activity, procedure, method, technique, or business to determine what must be accomplished and how the necessary operations may best be accomplished.

The act of testing the software for compliance with a standard.

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

Management review designed to evaluate efficiency and to identify areas in need of management improvement within the institution in order to ensure effectiveness in meeting organizational goals.

Large computers in both size and capacity.

Generating, planning, organizing, and administering medical and nursing care and services for patients.

Number of individuals in a population relative to space.

A health care system which combines physicians, hospitals, and other medical services with a health plan to provide the complete spectrum of medical care for its customers. In a fully integrated system, the three key elements - physicians, hospital, and health plan membership - are in balance in terms of matching medical resources with the needs of purchasers and patients. (Coddington et al., Integrated Health Care: Reorganizing the Physician, Hospital and Health Plan Relationship, 1994, p7)

Hospitals maintained by a university for the teaching of medical students, postgraduate training programs, and clinical research.

Hospital facilities equipped to carry out investigative procedures.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.

A system of record keeping in which a list of the patient's problems is made and all history, physical findings, laboratory data, etc. pertinent to each problem are placed under that heading.

The application of scientific knowledge or technology to the field of radiology. The applications center mostly around x-ray or radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes but the technological applications of any radiation or radiologic procedure is within the scope of radiologic technology.

Institutional systems consisting of more than one health facility which have cooperative administrative arrangements through merger, affiliation, shared services, or other collective ventures.

Systematic organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of specialized information, especially of a scientific or technical nature (From ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983). It often involves authenticating or validating information.

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others.

Collection, analysis, and interpretation of data about the frequency, distribution, and consequences of disease or health conditions, for use in the planning, implementing, and evaluating public health programs.

Procedures, strategies, and theories of planning.

The comparative study of animal structure with regard to homologous organs or parts. (Stedman, 25th ed)

The circulation or wide dispersal of information.

Computer-based systems for use in personnel management in a facility, e.g., distribution of caregivers with relation to patient needs.

The field of nursing care concerned with the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health.

The external elements and conditions which surround, influence, and affect the life and development of an organism or population.

The activities and endeavors of the public health services in a community on any level.

Mathematical or statistical procedures used as aids in making a decision. They are frequently used in medical decision-making.

Transmission of information over distances via electronic means.

A large or important municipality of a country, usually a major metropolitan center.

The hospital unit in which patients with respiratory conditions requiring special attention receive intensive medical care and surveillance.

Systematic identification of a population's needs or the assessment of individuals to determine the proper level of services needed.

Statistical interpretation and description of a population with reference to distribution, composition, or structure.

Professional medical personnel approved to provide care to patients in a hospital.

Collections of facts, assumptions, beliefs, and heuristics that are used in combination with databases to achieve desired results, such as a diagnosis, an interpretation, or a solution to a problem (From McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed).

The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).

Any visual display of structural or functional patterns of organs or tissues for diagnostic evaluation. It includes measuring physiologic and metabolic responses to physical and chemical stimuli, as well as ultramicroscopy.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Devices capable of receiving data, retaining data for an indefinite or finite period of time, and supplying data upon demand.

A geographic area defined and served by a health program or institution.

An agency of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to advancement of medical and related sciences. Major activities of this institute include the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health, research in medical informatics and support for medical library development.

Small computers that lack the speed, memory capacity, and instructional capability of the full-size computer but usually retain its programmable flexibility. They are larger, faster, and more flexible, powerful, and expensive than microcomputers.

Various units or machines that operate in combination or in conjunction with a computer but are not physically part of it. Peripheral devices typically display computer data, store data from the computer and return the data to the computer on demand, prepare data for human use, or acquire data from a source and convert it to a form usable by a computer. (Computer Dictionary, 4th ed.)

The area of medicine concerned with the effects on health and disease due to geographic factors such as CLIMATE, environmental conditions, and geographic location.

Organized services to administer immunization procedures in the prevention of various diseases. The programs are made available over a wide range of sites: schools, hospitals, public health agencies, voluntary health agencies, etc. They are administered to an equally wide range of population groups or on various administrative levels: community, municipal, state, national, international.

Care which provides integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. (JAMA 1995;273(3):192)

Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.

The sum total of nursing activities which includes assessment (identifying needs), intervention (ministering to needs), and evaluation (validating the effectiveness of the help given).

Monitoring of rate of occurrence of specific conditions to assess the stability or change in health levels of a population. It is also the study of disease rates in a specific cohort such as in a geographic area or population subgroup to estimate trends in a larger population. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

Care given to patients by nursing service personnel.

A method of analyzing the variation in utilization of health care in small geographic or demographic areas. It often studies, for example, the usage rates for a given service or procedure in several small areas, documenting the variation among the areas. By comparing high- and low-use areas, the analysis attempts to determine whether there is a pattern to such use and to identify variables that are associated with and contribute to the variation.

A republic in central Africa, east of NIGER, west of SUDAN and south of LIBYA. Its capital is N'Djamena.

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.

Institutions which provide medical or health-related services.

An American National Standards Institute-accredited organization working on specifications to support development and advancement of clinical and administrative standards for healthcare.

The observation and analysis of movements in a task with an emphasis on the amount of time required to perform the task.

The services rendered by members of the health profession and non-professionals under their supervision.

Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS.

Research aimed at assessing the quality and effectiveness of health care as measured by the attainment of a specified end result or outcome. Measures include parameters such as improved health, lowered morbidity or mortality, and improvement of abnormal states (such as elevated blood pressure).

Hospitals controlled by various types of government, i.e., city, county, district, state or federal.

Observation and acquisition of physical data from a distance by viewing and making measurements from a distance or receiving transmitted data from observations made at distant location.

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.

A set of statistical methods used to group variables or observations into strongly inter-related subgroups. In epidemiology, it may be used to analyze a closely grouped series of events or cases of disease or other health-related phenomenon with well-defined distribution patterns in relation to time or place or both.

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of data through the application of computers.

The status of health in urban populations.

The relocation of health care institutions or units thereof. The concept includes equipment relocation.

The commitment in writing, as authentic evidence, of something having legal importance. The concept includes certificates of birth, death, etc., as well as hospital, medical, and other institutional records.

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

An infant during the first month after birth.

The science of designing, building or equipping mechanical devices or artificial environments to the anthropometric, physiological, or psychological requirements of the people who will use them.

The science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

A research and development program initiated by the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE to build knowledge sources for the purpose of aiding the development of systems that help health professionals retrieve and integrate biomedical information. The knowledge sources can be used to link disparate information systems to overcome retrieval problems caused by differences in terminology and the scattering of relevant information across many databases. The three knowledge sources are the Metathesaurus, the Semantic Network, and the Specialist Lexicon.

Personnel who provide nursing service to patients in a hospital.

Facilities having programs intended to promote and maintain a state of physical well-being for optimal performance and health.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

Overall systems, traditional or automated, to provide medication to patients in hospitals. Elements of the system are: handling the physician's order, transcription of the order by nurse and/or pharmacist, filling the medication order, transfer to the nursing unit, and administration to the patient.

Components of medical instrumentation used for physiological evaluation of patients, that signal when a threshold value is reached.

An area of recreation or hygiene for use by the public.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

The levels of excellence which characterize the health service or health care provided based on accepted standards of quality.

The prediction or projection of the nature of future problems or existing conditions based upon the extrapolation or interpretation of existing scientific data or by the application of scientific methodology.

A vocabulary database of universal identifiers for laboratory and clinical test results. Its purpose is to facilitate the exchange and pooling of results for clinical care, outcomes management, and research. It is produced by the Regenstrief Institute. (LOINC and RELMA [Internet]. Indianapolis: The Regenstrief Institute; c1995-2001 [cited 2002 Apr 2]. Available from http://www.regenstrief.org/loinc)

Information intended for potential users of medical and healthcare services. There is an emphasis on self-care and preventive approaches as well as information for community-wide dissemination and use.

Water particles that fall from the ATMOSPHERE.

Beliefs and values shared by all members of the organization. These shared values, which are subject to change, are reflected in the day to day management of the organization.

Administrative units of government responsible for policy making and management of governmental activities.

Components of a national health care system which administer specific services, e.g., national health insurance.

Those actions designed to carry out recommendations pertaining to health plans or programs.

Planning for needed health and/or welfare services and facilities.

Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.

Usually a written medical and nursing care program designed for a particular patient.

Compilations of data on hospital activities and programs; excludes patient medical records.

Constructions built to access underground water.

An organized procedure carried out through committees to review admissions, duration of stay, professional services furnished, and to evaluate the medical necessity of those services and promote their most efficient use.

An interdisciplinary study dealing with the transmission of messages or signals, or the communication of information. Information theory does not directly deal with meaning or content, but with physical representations that have meaning or content. It overlaps considerably with communication theory and CYBERNETICS.