In 1990, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued a recommendation (Recommendation No. R(90)21) to the governments of member states to ensure that all professionals involved in healthcare receive as soon as possible appropriate education and training in health informatics. The EDUCTRA (Education and Training in Health Informatics) Concerted Action, established in 1992 under the auspices of the AIM (Advanced Informatics in Medicine) European programme, and consisting of representatives of all member states, conducted a Europeanwide survey. This survey showed that the above Recommendation had received little attention in most member states. It also revealed considerable gaps (i) in the knowledge of healthcare professionals with respect to the basic principles of health informatics, and (ii) in the adequate use of modern information technology.
This book is divided into four parts. The first part reproduces the original Recommendation No. R (90)21, outlines the concerted European efforts in education and training in health telematics made by the European Commission, Directorate General XIII Health Telematics, and describes the state of the art of education and training of health informatics in Europe as the result of the EDUCTRA survey.
The second part of the book provides general guidelines for European curricula in health informatics, as they were developed and elaborated by the members of the EDUCTRA Concerted Action (1992-1994). It also gives an alternative, systematic view of health informatics for teaching and training purposes. It concludes with the description of the ELITE computer program developed by another taskforce of the EDUCTRA group.
The third part of this volume entails descriptions and applications of curricula in health informatics in European states. Some are already existing education or training curricula for medical students, nurses, allied health professionals or healthcare staff. Others are merely proposals for future application. Yet other curricula apply on a European scale and have transnational educational objectives. The various applications are presented by EU countries in alphabetical order.
The fourth part of the book gives a glossary of terms and acronyms used in health informatics. It has been kindly provided by CEN/TC 251, the European Technical Committee for standardisation in health informatics.
This book is intended to give health professionals, teachers and trainers not only a comprehensive overview of the current needs in health informatics in Europe but also the necessary guidelines, materials, tools and applications for improving education and training in health informatics in Europe within the coming years.
The editors of this book warmly thank all the authors for their valuable contribution and also the members of the EDUCTRA Concerted Action for their important work. They express their gratitude to the European Commission, DGXIII Health Telematics, for their financial, managerial and strategic support. Finally, the editors are most indebted to Margot Hijnens for her expert secretarial help.
A. Hasman
A. Albert
P. Wainwright
R. Klar
M. Sosa (Editors)
July 1995