Health Informatics
(Module II: Technological Perspective)
Computing Concepts for Biomedicine and
Health:
✓Computing Concepts for Biomedicine and Health refers
to the application of computing and information
technology in the fields of biomedicine and healthcare.
✓This interdisciplinary area combines principles from
computer science, biology, medicine, and health
sciences to improve patient care, enhance research,
and optimize healthcare systems.
Keys Areas of Consideration:
1. Health Information Systems :
• Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
• Health Information Exchange (HIE)
2. Data Analytics in Healthcare:
• Big Data in Health
• Predictive Analytics
3. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning:
• Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
4. Telemedicine and Mobile Health (mHealth)
• Telehealth Technologies
• Health Apps and Wearables
5. Bioinformatics and Genomics
• Genomic Data Analysis
• Biological Data Management
6. Security and Privacy in Health Informatics
• Data Security
• Ethics and Privacy
7. Interoperability and Standards
• Interoperability Challenges
• Integration of Systems
8. Computational Modeling and Simulation
• Health Simulation Models
• Systems Biology
9. Emerging Technologies in Healthcare
• Blockchain Technology
• Internet of Things (IoT) in Health
Health Information Systems (HIS)
Health Information Systems (HIS) refer to systems
designed to manage healthcare data and support the
collection, storage, retrieval, and exchange of health
information. These systems play a crucial role in
improving the efficiency, quality, and safety of
healthcare delivery.
Key Components
✓ Electronic Health Records (EHRs): Digital versions of patients’ medical
histories, designed to be shared across different healthcare providers
to ensure coordinated care.
✓ Electronic Medical Records (EMRs): Digital records that replace paper
charts, typically used within a single practice or organization.
✓ Practice Management Software: Tools for managing administrative
tasks, including scheduling, billing, and reporting.
✓ Patient Portals: Online platforms that allow patients to access their
health information and communicate with healthcare providers.
✓ Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM): Systems that use technology to
monitor patients’ health data remotely, particularly useful in
telehealth scenarios.
✓ Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS): Tools that analyze clinical
data and provide healthcare professionals with evidence-based
recommendations to assist in patient care.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
✓Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are defined as
comprehensive, digital collections of patient health
information that are maintained by healthcare
providers and organizations.
✓They are designed to be shared across different
healthcare settings, enabling various authorized
users, such as physicians, nurses, and administrative
staff, to access and update patient data efficiently.
Key Characteristics of EHRs:
1. Comprehensive Patient Information: EHRs include a wide range of
health data, including:
✓Patient demographics (name, age, gender, contact information)
✓Medical history (past illnesses, surgeries, family history)
✓Medications and allergies
✓Laboratory test results and imaging studies
✓Treatment plans and progress notes
✓Immunization records
2. Interoperability: EHRs are designed to be interoperable, allowing data to
be exchanged and shared among different healthcare systems and providers
to ensure continuity of care.
3. Real-Time Access: EHRs provide real-time access to patient information,
facilitating timely and informed decision-making by healthcare
professionals.
4. Improved Care Coordination: By integrating data from various sources,
EHRs help coordinate care among multiple providers, leading to enhanced
patient outcomes.
5. Patient-Centered: EHRs support patient engagement by often including
portals that allow patients to access their health information, communicate
with providers, and manage appointments.
6.Regulatory Compliance: EHRs must comply with regulations and
standards, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA), to ensure patient privacy and data security.
7.Clinical Decision Support: Many EHR systems include tools that assist
healthcare providers in making clinical decisions, such as reminders for
preventive care and alerts about potential medication interactions.
8.Data Analytics: EHRs enable healthcare organizations to analyze
patient data for improved healthcare delivery, quality improvement, and
public health initiatives.
Stakeholders for EHRs: physicians, insurance
companies, hospitals or laboratories (EHRs)
HIS & EHRs
Health Information Exchange (HIE)
✓Health Information Exchange (HIE) refers to the
electronic movement of health-related information
among organizations according to nationally
recognized standards.
✓HIE enables the sharing of patient data across
different healthcare settings to improve the quality of
care, enhance patient safety, and reduce healthcare
costs.
Types of HIE:
✓Directed Exchange: Sending and receiving secure
information between specific parties, such as referrals.
✓Query-based Exchange: Enables providers to search
and discover accessible health information about a
patient from other providers, often used in
emergencies.
✓Consumer Mediated Exchange: Allows patients to
manage their health information and share it with
providers as needed.
Benefits:
✓Improved Care Coordination: HIE facilitates seamless
communication between providers, reducing duplication of
tests and ensuring all providers have access to a patient's
complete medical history.
✓Enhanced Patient Safety: Access to comprehensive patient
information helps prevent medication errors and other
adverse events.
✓Increased Efficiency: Streamlined workflows and reduced
administrative burdens for healthcare providers lead to more
efficient care delivery.
Data Standards:
✓ Data standards define how data should be formatted, structured, and
exchanged to ensure consistency, accuracy, and reliability. They provide a
common language or framework for various entities to interpret and use the
data uniformly.
✓ Data standards, such as vocabularies and code sets, are a critical building
block for the interoperability of electronic health information. Data
standards support semantic interoperability, meaning the ability for systems
exchanging the data to interpret the data correctly.
✓ For example, different health systems may use different terms for the same
concept (e.g., Tylenol, acetaminophen). When these data are exchanged, the
systems must recognize these terms as synonyms and not different
medications.
Key Types of Data Standards:
✓Syntax Standards: Define the structure and format of data.
Examples include XML (Extensible Markup Language), JSON
(JavaScript Object Notation), and CSV (Comma Separated Values).
✓Semantics Standards: Focus on the meaning of the data, ensuring
that the same terms are used consistently across systems.
Examples include SNOMED CT (for healthcare terminology) and ISO
11179 (metadata registry).
✓ Data Encoding Standards: These refer to how data is encoded to be
stored and transferred, such as UTF-8 for character encoding.
✓ Communication Protocol Standards: Facilitate data exchange between
systems, such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and FTP (File
Transfer Protocol).
✓ Metadata Standards: Define how data about data (metadata) is
described. Examples include Dublin Core (for describing resources) and
ISO 19115 (for geospatial data).
Interoperability:
✓Interoperability refers to the ability of different
systems, applications, or organizations to work
together and exchange data in a meaningful way.
✓For systems to be interoperable, they need to
adhere to certain standards and frameworks.
✓Interoperability is generally classified into four
levels:
✓ Technical Interoperability: Refers to the ability of different technologies
(hardware, software, networks) to communicate and exchange data. It
requires standardized formats, protocols, and interfaces.
✓ Semantic Interoperability: Ensures that the meaning of exchanged
information is preserved and understood uniformly across different systems.
This requires agreement on terminologies, ontologies, and data models.
✓ Organizational Interoperability: Involves aligning business processes,
practices, and policies between organizations so that they can collaborate
effectively. This can involve legal agreements, governance, and trust
frameworks.
✓Syntactic Interoperability: Ensures that data exchanged between systems
follows a consistent format or structure, making it readable and usable by the
receiving system.
Importance of Standards and Interoperability
✓Data Consistency: Ensures that data remains consistent across
different platforms, organizations, or devices.
✓Efficiency: Improves the efficiency of data exchange, reducing
the need for data transformation and integration efforts.
✓Collaboration: Facilitates collaboration between organizations,
industries, or countries, especially in healthcare, finance, and
government sectors.
✓Compliance and Regulation: Many industries require adherence
to specific standards for legal compliance, ensuring that systems
can communicate effectively within regulated environments.
Health Data Standards
✓Health data standards are agreed-upon terms which lay the
foundation for clinical information systems, clinical data
exchange, and system integration.
✓They cover the methods, procedures, terminologies,
specifications, and protocols for collection, storage,
exchange, and retrieval of health data.
✓Health data includes all information associated with health
applications which include but are not limited to medical
records, health metrics, radiology and diagnostic images or
reports, medications, payment and reimbursement,
medical devices and monitoring systems, and
administrative systems.
Implication:
✓ The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the importance of health data
and its exchange across health systems. It has also increased the use of
tech-based virtual healthcare solutions for efficient and advanced
treatment solutions, which has led to exponential growth in
healthcare IT. The global healthcare IT market is expected to reach
$1305.1 billion in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 29.3% from 2022 to
2030.
✓ Advanced healthcare IT solutions are facilitating the exchange of
health data across health systems to provide better patient outcomes,
leading to increased emphasis on data standards in healthcare.
Who creates data standards in healthcare?
✓Health Level 7 International (HL7)
✓DirectTrust Standards
✓National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP)
✓International Health Terminology Standards Development
Organisation (IHTSDO)
✓Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC)
✓Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) International
✓Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)
Categories of Health Data Standards
Data standards in healthcare are divided into four
main categories:
✓Terminology standards
✓Content Standards
✓Data exchange standards
✓Privacy and security standards
Terminology standards:
• Terminology standards are a set of unique codes and
classification systems that represent different health
concepts. They allow health information systems to
communicate, removing the barrier of language.
• Different terminology standards are in place for different
purposes.
Content Standards:
• Content standards define the structure and data types of
electronic medical documents to ensure all medical data is
represented in a clear and understandable manner. They are
used for clear medical documentation.
• Imagine different hospitals and diagnostic centres presenting
patient and medical information in different documents and
forms. It becomes difficult for patients and other healthcare
providers to interpret and record the information. Content
standards in healthcare address this issue.
Transport/Communication Standards/Data
exchange standards
• Transport standards specify the flow of information
between health systems to ensure interoperability. They
define formats, document architecture, methods, APIs etc.,
to facilitate data exchange.
Privacy and Security Standards:
• These are the most important standards to be followed by
healthcare companies. Privacy and Security Standards
consist of rules that ensure the protection of sensitive
health information from misuse.
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
✓Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a subfield of artificial
intelligence (AI) that focuses on the interaction between
computers and humans through natural language.
✓In health informatics, NLP enables the extraction, analysis, and
understanding of unstructured data, such as clinical notes,
patient records, and research articles.
✓Definition: NLP is a field of AI that focuses on the interaction
between computers and humans using natural language. It
enables machines to understand, interpret, and generate human
language.
Key Components of NLP
✓ Tokenization: The process of breaking text into individual words or
phrases (tokens).
✓ Part-of-Speech Tagging: Identifying the grammatical parts of speech
(nouns, verbs, etc.) for each token in the text.
✓ Named Entity Recognition (NER): The identification of specific entities
such as diseases, medications, and symptoms within the text.
✓ Sentiment Analysis: Evaluating the sentiment or emotional tone
behind a series of words to understand patient feedback or public
opinion on healthcare services.
✓ Text Classification: Assigning predefined categories to text documents
(e.g., categorizing clinical notes based on the diagnosis).
Working of Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Importance of NLP in Health Informatics
✓Data Interpretation: A significant amount of health data is
unstructured (e.g., physician notes, discharge summaries). NLP
helps convert this data into structured formats that can be
easily analyzed.
✓Enhancing Patient Care: By analyzing clinical text, NLP can assist
in providing better patient care through insights into treatment
patterns, adverse events, and patient feedback.
✓Research and Clinical Trials: NLP tools can analyze large volumes
of literature, aiding researchers in identifying relevant studies
and extracting critical information from trial data.
Computer Vision
✓Computer vision is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI)
that enables machines to interpret, analyze, and
understand visual information from the world, including
images and videos.
✓By simulating human vision, computer vision systems can
extract meaningful insights from visual data, allowing for a
wide range of applications in various fields, including
healthcare, autonomous driving, security, and more.
Importance of Computer Vision
✓Automation of Visual Tasks: Computer vision automates tasks
that traditionally require human visual analysis, improving
efficiency and accuracy.
✓Enhanced Decision-Making: By providing actionable insights
from visual data, computer vision supports better decision-
making across industries.
✓Real-Time Analysis: The ability to analyze images and videos in
real time enables applications such as surveillance, autonomous
vehicles, and remote monitoring.
Key Applications:
✓Medical Imaging Analysis: Techniques for interpreting
X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, and ultrasounds.
✓Image Classification: Identifying and categorizing
diseases (e.g., tumors) from images.
✓Image Segmentation: Isolating relevant structures
within images for targeted analysis.
✓Telemedicine: Supporting remote diagnostics through
image sharing and analysis.
Image Processing:
✓Image processing is a field of study that involves the
manipulation and enhancement of images to extract useful
information, improve image quality, or prepare images for
further analysis.
✓It encompasses a variety of techniques and methods that
can be applied to both still images and video data. Image
processing plays a crucial role in various applications,
including medical imaging, remote sensing, computer
vision, and multimedia.
Image Processing: Steps
Key Techniques:
• Filtering
• Image Enhancement
• Image Restoration
• Image Segmentation
• Morphological Operations
• Image Compression
• Feature Extraction and Analysis
Applications of Image Processing
✓Medical Imaging: Enhancing images from MRI, CT, or X-ray
scans to assist in diagnosis and treatment planning.
✓Remote Sensing: Analyzing satellite or aerial imagery for
applications in agriculture, urban planning, and
environmental monitoring.
✓Facial Recognition: Enhancing and analyzing facial images
for security and surveillance applications.
✓Autonomous Vehicles: Processing images from cameras
and sensors to navigate and understand the driving
environment.
Medical Coding
• Medical coding is the process of translating healthcare
diagnoses, procedures, medical services, and equipment
into universal medical alphanumeric codes. These codes
are used for billing, documentation, and data analysis in
healthcare.
Importance of Medical Coding
✓Accurate Billing: Ensures healthcare providers are properly
reimbursed for services rendered.
✓Data Management: Facilitates the collection of data for
patient records, research, and public health reporting.
✓Regulatory Compliance: Ensures adherence to healthcare
laws and regulations.
✓Quality Improvement: Aids in tracking healthcare outcomes
and improving service quality.
Deep Learning | DS | AI | ML
Deep Learning
• Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that utilizes
neural networks with multiple layers (deep neural networks)
to analyze various forms of data. It mimics the way the
human brain processes information, enabling machines to
learn from vast amounts of data.
Key Characteristics
✓Hierarchical Feature Learning: Automatically learns
features from raw data at multiple levels of abstraction.
✓Large Data Requirement: Requires large datasets for
training to achieve high performance.
✓High Computational Power: Utilizes powerful GPUs for
faster training and inference.
Applications:
✓Image Recognition: Used in facial recognition systems,
autonomous vehicles, and medical imaging.
✓Natural Language Processing: Applied in translation
services, chatbots, and sentiment analysis.
✓Speech Recognition: Enables voice-activated systems
and virtual assistants.
✓Generative Models: Creates new data instances, such
as artwork or synthetic data.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human
intelligence processes by machines, particularly computer
systems. It encompasses a variety of subfields, including
machine learning, natural language processing, robotics,
and expert systems.
Applications
✓Personal Assistants: Virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa,
and Google Assistant.
✓Autonomous Vehicles: Self-driving cars that navigate
using AI algorithms.
✓Healthcare: AI systems for diagnostics, treatment
recommendations, and personalized medicine.
✓Robotics: Intelligent robots for manufacturing, logistics,
and service industries.
Data Science
• Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific
methods, processes, algorithms, and systems to extract
knowledge and insights from structured and unstructured
data. It combines expertise in statistics, computer science,
and domain knowledge.
Key Components
✓Data Collection: Gathering data from various sources,
including databases, APIs, and web scraping.
✓Data Cleaning: Preprocessing data to remove inaccuracies,
inconsistencies, and irrelevant information.
✓Data Analysis: Employing statistical techniques to
understand and interpret data.
✓Data Visualization: Presenting data through graphs, charts,
and dashboards for better insights.
Applications
✓Business Intelligence: Analyzing sales data for better
decision-making and strategy development.
✓Healthcare Analytics: Using patient data for predictive
modeling and improving treatment outcomes.
✓Finance: Risk assessment, fraud detection, and
algorithmic trading.
✓Social Media: Analyzing user interactions for targeted
marketing and sentiment analysis.
