Second-Generation HIT Informaticists

Great discoveries can transform the world. In 400 BC, Hippocrates theorized that the body was composed of four "humors"-blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Now think of the impact of the seminal work of William Harvey, who, in the 1600s, accurately described the circulation system and the role of the heart for the first time. It was not until the early 1900s that the Austrian biologist Karl Landsteiner identified four distinct blood groups. Today, knowledge about the nature and properties of blood is so complicated that the entire field of blood chemistry is devoted to its study.

This same type of expansion of knowledge within a scientific field is mirrored within the field of informatics. As new technologies develop, subsequent changes occur in the fiel that are, built upon the earlier work of others. In this Discussion, you examine the continuing evolution of the field of health informatics and assess how researchers built on the work of preceding scientists.
You will focus on the following individuals:

Joan Ash

Nancy Lorenzi

Ben Shneiderman

Diane Forsythe

Chuck Friedman

Sue Bakken

Patty Brennan

Diane Skiba

Danny Sands

Lucian Leape

To prepare:

Select and read at least one article from this week's Learning Resources for at least five individuals listed above.

Consider how the work of each individual has built upon the work of earlier pioneers in the informatics field.

Assess the areas of growth in informatics research from the informatics pioneers you researched last week to the individuals you read about this week, and the ways in which health informatics has continued to evolve.

Select one individual from this week you found to be of particular interest, and read at least one additional article written by him or her from the list provided in the Learning Resources.

Conduct further research to determine recent contributions or additions to the individual's research.

minimum of 550 words in APA format with a minimum of three references from the list provided below.

Include the level one headings as numbered below:

1) A brief summary of key contributions of the individual you selected.

2) Explain which ideas/accomplishments you found to be most compelling, and why.

3) Assess the evolution of the field of nursing informatics from the first group of pioneers (Week 1 Discussion) to the second generation of HIT nurse informaticists.

4) Provide specific examples of how this evolution is evident in the field.

Required Readings

Joan Ash

Ash, J. S., Berg, M., & Coiera, E. (2004). Some unintended consequences of information technology in health care: The nature of patient care information system-related errors. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 11(2), 104-112.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

In this article, the authors highlight key areas where unintended consequences and errors are occurring as the result of health information technology use. These errors fall into two distinct categories: input and retrieval errors, and errors caused by poor communication of information.