Digital Health and Pharmacy Informatics Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering digital health, health informatics, EHR/EMR systems, telehealth, big data, and artificial intelligence.

Digital Health

An ecosystem of digital tools used to support healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and facilitate communication.

Health Information Technology (HIT)

The use of technology and information systems to house information, reduce errors, and improve healthcare delivery quality through data.

Healthcare Informatics

The use and application of information, data, and technology within healthcare, combining information science, computer science, and healthcare knowledge to improve patient outcomes.

Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

A digital record containing health information that is limited to one organization or healthcare system.

Electronic Health Record (EHR)

A shared digital record containing health information that can follow a patient across multiple healthcare settings and providers.

Protected Health Information (PHI)

Information relating to a patient medical chart that should only be shared between collaborating providers and insurers to keep patient data safe.

Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE)

A broader prescribing technology where healthcare providers electronically enter medication orders.

Clinical Decision Support (CDS)

The clinical advice, warnings, reminders, and evidence-based recommendations provided to healthcare professionals at the point of care.

Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS)

The specific technology or software tool that delivers clinical decision support to the healthcare provider.

Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA)

An administration technology used at the bedside to ensure the correct medication is administered to the correct patient.

The 5 Rights

The standard core guidelines for medication administration: Right patient, Right medication, Right dose, Right route, and Right time.

Automated Dispensing Cabinets (ADCs)

Dispensing technologies (such as Pyxis, Omnicell, and NexsyADC) that reduce dispensing errors and improve inventory management.

E-prescribing

The electronic generation and transmission of a prescription directly from a prescriber to a pharmacy.

Pharmacy Informatics

The application of information and technology to support decision-making and safe, effective medication use throughout the medication-use process.

Patient-Specific Information

Health data that is unique to an individual patient, such as blood pressure readings, medication lists, A1C results, and allergy profiles.

Knowledge-Based Information

General clinical and scientific information derived from sources such as clinical practice guidelines.

Consumer Health Informatics

A branch of informatics focused on patient-managed data, such as information collected from smart watches and personal health tracking devices.

Telehealth

A broad spectrum of healthcare services delivered through remote technologies by a clinician located away from the patient.

Telemedicine

A subset of telehealth specifically referring to clinical care delivered remotely.

Synchronous Telehealth

Real-time healthcare interactions between a patient and provider, such as video visits or telepharmacy consultations.

Asynchronous Telehealth

Store-and-forward healthcare services where data, images, or portal messages are transmitted for later review by a clinician.

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)

The use of wearable devices or mobile applications to collect, transmit, report, and interpret patient health data remotely.

Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)

Software used for therapeutic purposes to help treat diseases (e.g., reSET, EndeavorRx).

MedWatch

The FDA reporting database used by healthcare professionals to report adverse events related to medical devices and drugs.

Interoperability

The ability of different health information systems to exchange and effectively use health data across settings.

Little Data

Health data collected from an individual patient, such as single blood pressure readings, medication lists, and A1C results.

Big Data

Combined health datasets compiled from many patients and systems, including EHRs, pharmacy databases, and genomic data.

The Five Vs of Big Data

The core characteristics of big data: Volume (amount), Velocity (speed), Variety (types/sources), Veracity (accuracy/reliability), and Value (support for meaningful decisions).

DIKI Pyramid: Data

The baseline layer of the DIKI pyramid, consisting of raw data output without prior analysis.

DIKI Pyramid: Information

Data that has been cleaned up and prepared for future analytical use.

DIKI Pyramid: Knowledge

Information formatted to facilitate clinical interpretation and decision-making.

DIKI Pyramid: Intelligence

Actionable knowledge that supports or drives automated decision-making processes.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Technology that utilizes data to generate recommendations and predictions to support healthcare decision-making.

Predictive Analytics

The practice of using historical data to predict future clinical outcomes, such as hospital readmission, stroke risk, bleeding risk, or heart failure.

Machine Learning

A form of AI that continuously learns from new data over time and modifies its predictions accordingly.

The Black Box Problem

A challenge in AI where a system provides a prediction or recommendation, but humans cannot easily explain or understand how it reached that conclusion.