HOSA Health Informatics

Academy

Higher education in general with an emphasis on the institution as a society of scholars, scientists, and artists

Accounts payable

the monies that are owed to companies such as vendors and suppliers for items purchased on crdit

Advanced Practice Nurse

Nurses educated at the graduate level and authorized to practice as a specialist with advanced expertise in a specialty of nursing

Adverse event

an unintended and unfavorable event associated with the provision of medical care, use of a medical product or treatment protocol

Ancillary systems

software application used by patient care support departments such as laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy

Application

A software program designed to help the user to perform specific tasks

Application service provider (ASP)

A company, located remotely, that hosts an electronic health record or departmental system solution for a healthcare enterprise and provides access to the application via a secure network

Architecture

The formal description and design of information technology components, the relationships among them, and their implementation guide

Attributes

the characteristics of properties of the components of a system. Attributes are sued to describe a system

Availability

A general term used to describe the amount of time that computer system resources are available to users. This is usually calculated for a one-year period

Avatar

A graphic image representing a person or other entity, usually on the Internet or in a video game

Backcasting

A technique for predicting the future by envisioning a desired future endpoint and then working backward to determine what actives and policies would be required to achieve that future

Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA)

a method for administering medications using medication administration software, bar codes, and scanners with the goal of reducing errors during the medication administration process

Bayesian knowledge base

A knowledge base built using decision trees and branch of statistical inference that permits the use of prior knowledge in assessing the probability of an event in the presence of new data. For example, if a patient has a fever and increased white blood cells, the Bayesian knowledge base provides the probability that the patient has an infection versus another disorder that also creates an inflammatory process

Best of breed

An approach to selecting applications involving reviewing vendors' products to determine the best for a department or setting. When this approach is used, each department selects the "best" and the organization is tasked with achieving interoperability among them all.

Big bang

A go-live approach in which all applications or modules are implemented at once

Big data

Very large datasets

Biomedical informatics

The interdisciplinary scientific field that studies and pursues the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving, and decision making, motivated by efforts to improve human health (AMIA)

Bolt-on system

A software program or application that is used in association with a larger application to give users their full required functionality. users often require interfaces between the primary and bolt-on system. An example is an application for U.S. Mail address verification used in conjunction with a billing system

Boundary

The demarcation between a system and the environment of the system

Business continuity

The process created to ensure that essential functions and services continue during an adverse event

Business intelligence

Automated tools for analyzing massive amounts of data with the goal of improved decision making, typically at the organizational or departmental level.

Channel

A physical element that carries a message between a sender and a receiver. Examples of channels are radio waves, fiber optic lines, and paper

Charge description master file

A list of all prices for services group, (e.g., diagnosis-related group, Healthcare Common Procedure Coding, and Current Procedural Terminology 4) or goods provided to patients that serves as the basis for billing

Claims processing and management

The submission of an insurance claim or bill to a third party payer, either manually or electronically, and the follow-up on the payment from the payer

Classification

A single hierarchical terminology that aggregates data at a prescribed level of abstraction for a particular domain

Clicker

A device that is part of a classroom or audience response system that allows realtime feedback to an instructor on, for example, comprehension of presented material

Clinical application

A software program used to perform specific tasks supporting the clinical aspects of healthcare, for example, documentation or orders management

Clinical data repository

The storage component for all patient clinical records data

Clinical decision support (CDS)

Tools and applications that assist the healthcare provider with some aspect of clinical decision making

Clinical documentation

Software that provides a medium for recording, managing, and reporting patient care activities by a variety of disciplines

Clinical informatics

application of informatics and information technology to deliver healthcare services

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs)

Statements and recommendations created from evidence-based practice or consensus-based processes and used to guide patient care.

Clinical scenario

The plan of an expected and potential course of events for a simulated clinical experience. The clinical scenario provides the context for the simulation and can vary in length and complexity, depending on the objectives

Closed system

A system that is enclosed in an impermeable boundary and does not interact with the environment

Cloud computing

A model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction

Cold site

A relocation site for a company pending a disaster. It usually does not include backed-up copies of data from the original location. Hardware may be available but may need to be configured

Comparative effectiveness research

Studies designed to determine which methods to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor a health condition work best in terms of both benefit and harm, for which patients, and under what circumstances

Complexity theory

builds on chaos theory using a qualitative approach to the study of dynamic nonlinear social systems that change with time and demonstrate complex relationships

Comprehensive educational information system

The hardware, applications, data, and integrated functionality designed for managing an academic setting such as a university

Computer science

The "systematic study" of algorithmic methods for representing and transforming information, including their theory, design, implementation, application, and efficiency.... The roots of it extend deeply into mathematics and engineering. Mathematics imparts analysis to the field; engineering imparts design

Computerized provider order entry (CPOE)

software designed to allow clinicians to enter and manage a variety of patient care orders, such as medications, laboratory, nutrition care, and other diagnostic tests, via the computer

Concept

A term that represents a group of ideas or items. it may represent an abstract idea, such as love, or be concrete, such as fruit.

Confidentiality

Ensuring that data or information is disclosed only to authorize personnel

Configuration management database (CMDB)

A database used to store configuration records throughout their lifecycle.

Confusion matrix

Classification is a data mining function that assigns items in a collection to target categories or classes. A confusion matrix is an array used to test the specific classification model used for classifying the items by showing relationships between true and prediced classes

Content management system

An educational application that is used to create, edit, store, and deliver learning objects and materials such as PowerPoint slides, videos, diagrams etc. These learning objects and materials can be used in different purposes

Course management system (CMS)

A software program or application that permits a faculty member to design and deliver a course without knowing programming code. Students use the CMS to learn the concepts and skills being taught

Convered entity

A healht plan, a healthcare clearinghouse, or a healthcare provider that transmits health information in electronic form

Critical (key) application

Defined by the stakeholders as an application that must be recovered first in the case of a disaster or downtime, as it is critical to some aspect of the organization and its operations (business)

Crowdsourcing

The process of tapping into the collective intelligence of a group to complete business-related tasks that a company would normally either perform itself or outsource to a third party provider

Cytotoxicity

The property of an agent being toxic to cells

Dashboard

An application designed to provide a visual display of specific data points, for example, for organizational performance data

Data

Uninterpreted elements such as a person's name, wight, or age. Because they are uninterpreted, they do not have meaning.

Data Center

A housing facility for computer systems, applications, and related components

Data dictionary

Stores standard terms for healthcare. Defines the terms and structure in a database and is used to control and maintain integration in large databases. It records (1) what dat is stored, (2) the description and characteristics of the data, (3) relationships among data elements, and (4) access rights and frequency of terms

Data exchange

the sharing of data among systems using an agreed-upon standard electronic communication, convention, or "rule"

Data integrity

The accuracy and consistency of stored and transmitted data. Data integrity can be comprised when information is entered incorrectly or deliberately altered or when the system protections are not working correctly or suddenly fail

Data mining

A step in the knowledge discovery process of finding correlations or patterns among dozens of fields in large relational databases

Data standards

Data processes that have been approved by a recognized body and provide for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at achieving the optimum degree of order in a given context.

Data visualization

using software tools to detect visual patterns in large datasets

Debrifing

A review and self-reflection activity led by a facilitator following a simulation or other IT-related experience

Decision making

The process of considering available data and information which is then matched with available knowledge to reach a conclusion or to make a judgment

Denial management

The tracking and follow-up of denials for payment from insurance companies

Dental informatics

The application of computer and information sciences to improve dental practice, research, education, and management

Derived classifications

WHO classifications based on reference classifications but adapted by either providing additional detail or becoming a compilation of multiple reference classifications

Digital divide

The gap between groups of users in the adoption and use of personal electronic devices and the Internet

Digital literacy

The ability to operate and understand digital devices of all types including the technical skills to operate these devices, the conceptual knowledge to understand their functionality, and the ability to creatively and critically use these devices to access, manipulate, evaluate, and apply data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in activities of daily living

Disaster recovery

Plans and procedures that organizations use when essential services or systems will not be available for an extended period of time or when it is expected that the disaster or event will have a significant impact on operations. Includes plans for response during the event or disaster

Discount usability evaluations

Cost-effective methods to determine usability issues for applications. These methods require minimal human resources and time yet still find about 80% of critical design issues

Disruptive technology

An innovation that replaces long held traditional ideas and ways of doing things. A technology that abruptly causes a change in thinking or direction

Distance education

Instruction and learning that takes place when the teacher and the learner are in two different settings and possibly teaching and learning at two different times

Distance learning

The process of learning using distance education technology, which separates the learner in time and space from his or her peers and instructor

Distrubuted learning

Learning that occurs through the use of technologies and interactive activities and that may include augmented classrooms, hybrid courses, or distance education courses

Distributive education

A change in pedagogy where the course developer uses technology to customize the learning environment to the learning styles of the learners; the learners may be taking distance, hybrid, on on-site courses.

Downtime

A time during which a computer of software is not available or not functioning due to hardware, operating system, or application program failure

Dynamic homeostasis

The constantly changing processes used by a system to maintain a steady state or balance. The normal fluctuations seen in body chemistry levels demonstrate dynamic homeostasis

Dynamic system

A system that is in a constant state of change in response to a reiterative feedback loop

eBooks

Books in a digital format that may or may not require a proprietary device to read

Education games

Games that engage students in active learning. They generally include some sort of competition related to teams and winning a contest

eHealth

Electronic communication and information technology related to health information and processes accessible through online means

eHealth initiatives

Efforts and programming implemented to standardize and transform the use of technology in healthcare with the goal of improving patient care

eLeanring

A change in the learner's knowledge and/or skills that is attributable to an experience with an electronic device

Electronic data Interchange (EDI)

The standards or act of transferring data via computer technology between organizations

Electronic health record (EHR)

A longitudal electronic record of patient health information produced by encounters in one or more care settings

Electronic health Record (EHR) adoption

The depth and breadth of use or penetration of EHRs in healthcare provider organizations and practices

Electronic medical record (EMR)

A digital version of a patient's chart used in a clinician's office or other healthcare setting

Electronic medication Administration Record (eMAR)

Software used to view and document patient medications

Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

a suite of applications called modules, a database, and a set of inherent processes for consolidating business operations into a single, consistent, computing platform

Entropy

A measure of the disorder or unavailability of energy within a system

ePatient

A person who uses technology to actively engage in his or her healthcare and manages the responsibility for his or her own health and wellness

ePatient movement

A movement in which patients play an increasing role in their own healthcare and contribute to the care of others

ePortfolio

A portfolio that is maintained in a digital format

Equifinality

The tendency of open systems to reach a characteristic final state from different initial conditions and in different ways

Ergonomics

In the U.S. this focuses on the physical design and implementation of equipment, tools, and products as they relate to humans safety, comfort, and convenience. The term is used interchangeably with human factors in Europe and elsewhere

Evidence-based practice (EBP)

The use of research, data, and scientific evaluation as a basis for clinical decision making and the provision of patient care

Expert System

computer program that imitates human thinking through complicated sets of if-then rules

Extrapolation

Extending historical data to create future predicitons and trend lines

Fat client

A personal computer with full functionality and disk storage that exists in a client-server environment. It contrasts with a thin client that i, in essence, solely a terminal with no embedded software

Fidelity

Believability or the degree to which a simulated experience approaches reality' as fidelity increases, realism increases