The Course is an adaptation of the on-line Introduction to Biomedical and Health Informatics class currently taught in the OHSU Biomedical and Health Informatics Education Program. It is intended to provide a broad overview of health informatics, highlighting the key issues and challenges for the field.
The instructor for the course is William Hersh, MD. The best way to reach him is via email (hersh@ohsu.edu). He also maintains the Informatics Professor Blog. Teaching is done via distance learning and uses the following modalities:
- Voice-over-Powerpoint lectures – The key material is delivered using the Flash plug-in, which is freely available and already installed in almost all Web browsers. The content is easily accessed by connections to the Internet. MP3 and PDF versions are also available.
- Interactive threaded discussion – Students engage in discussion on important issues using the on-line bulletin board. An on-line faculty moderator helps keep the discussion on track.
- Homework/quizzes – Each of the 11 units is accompanied by a 10-question multiple-choice self-assessment that aims to have the student apply the knowledge from the unit.
The on-line part of the course is accessed via OHSU’s Sakai learning management system. At the onset of the course, each student is provided a login and password by the OHSU distance learning staff, who also provide technical support for the course. Students are expected to keep up with the materials and should anticipate spending 4-8 hours per unit on the course. All on-line activities are asynchronous, so there is no specified time that a student must be on-line.
Students must complete all homework/quizzes, the course project, participate in class discussions and pass the final examination to receive the AMIA i10x10 Certificate of Completion.
Readings
The course has no required textbook. There is an optional textbook, which is edited by the course instructor and that students may want to consider: Hersh WR, Ed. (2022). Health Informatics: Practical Guide, 8th Edition. The book has a Web site and is available from Lulu.com in eBook and paper versions. The reading assignments from the book are optional, and no material will appear on the homework quizzes or final exam that is not also covered in the class. But some students prefer to also read a textbook when learning. The appropriate chapter readings for each unit in the course are as follows:
| Unit | Topic | Textbook Chapter(s) |
| 1 | Overview of Fields and Motivating Problems | 1, 2 |
| 2 | Computing Concepts for Biomedical and Health Informatics | 3, 23 |
| 3 | Electronic and Personal Health Records (EHR, PHR) | 4, 7 |
| 4 | Standards and Interoperability | 5 |
| 5 | Artificial Intelligence | 6, 8, 21 |
| 6 | Advanced Use of the EHR | 9, 10 |
| 7 | EHR Implementation, Security, and Evaluation | 11, 12, 13, 22 |
| 8 | Information Retrieval (Search) | 14 |
| 9 | Research Informatics | 15, 16 |
| 10 | Other Areas of Informatics | 17, 18, 19, 20 |
Course Interaction
Four (4) tutorials are conducted in Singapore and are intended to give participants an opportunity to have reviews of the Course at various stages.
The tutorials will cover practical aspects of the topics under review. Wherever possible, experiences relevant to Singapore will be covered. These will include case studies to facilitate class interaction and discussion.
The final tutorial, at the end of the Course, will be a full-day in-person session that will bring Course participants and OHSU and Singapore course faculty together to review the Course materials, give presentation of Course projects and share professional and working experience in health informatics.
Evaluation and Grading
In terms of hours, the breakdown is as follows:
| Activity | Duration (in hours) |
| Contact hours (lectures, tutorials, final examination) | 49 |
| Course Project Work (estimated) | 40 |
| Course Readings (estimated) | 40 |
| Total Duration of Course (in hours) | 129 |
The Course Project is due 1 week before the final examination.
The Final Examination is a 3-hour, written and open-book examination at the end of the Course.
Course Project
Students must complete a course project to obtain the Certificate of Completion. The goal of the project is to identify an informatics problem in your local setting (e.g., where you practice or work, or otherwise have access) and propose a solution based on what is known from informatics research and best practice. (If you do not have access to a health care setting, you can do the project in another setting, such as a company or organization. The instructor can help if you have a challenge with this.) The problem and solution should be written into a succinct 2-3 page (please no longer!) document that should include references that justify the framing of the problem and the proposed solutions.
The Course Projects for the Singapore Course will be marked solely by Dr KC Lun. In view of the sensitivity of some Course Project contents, participants are assured that all Course projects are viewed and marked solely by Dr Lun. Only the Project grades will be shared with Prof William Hersh and his OHSU team.
In view of the above, all Course Project submissions should be sent directly to lunkc@gatewaypl.com. Course Project submissions SHOULD NOT be uploaded to SAKAI
Students will present their project to their colleagues at one of the 2 in-person tutorials that they must attend before the Final Examination.
Evaluation
Student grading is based on the following:
- On-line multiple-choice homework assignments – 30%
- Course project – 30%
- Forum participation – 10%
- Final examination (written) – 30%
Please refer to Timetable for dates of the five (5) Tutorials and the final examination.
Instructors
The lead instructor for the course is William Hersh, MD. The best way to reach him is via email (hersh@ohsu.edu). The course is co-taught by KC Lun, PhD. KC is reachable via email {lunkc@gatewaypl.com}.