Aimed at health care professionals, this book looks beyond traditional information systems and shows how hospitals and other health care providers can attain a competitive edge. Speaking practitioner to practitioner, the authors explain how they use information technology to manage their health care institutions and to support the delivery of clinical care. This second edition incorporates the far-reaching advances of the last few years, which have moved the field of health informatics from the realm of theory into that of practice. Major new themes, such as a national information infrastructure and community networks, guidelines for case management, and community education and resource centres are added, while such topics as clinical and blood banking have been thoroughly updated.

1 Technology for Consumers and Information Needs in Health Care.- 2 Physician Workstations.- 3 Health Information Networks.- 4 Strategic Information Technology for an Integrated Delivery System.- 5 American Journal of Nursing (AJN) Network.- 6 How Health Systems Affect Care.- 7 Community Family Practice Systems.- 8 Resource and Community Education Center.- 9 Case Management Guidelines.- 10 Patient Outcomes of Health Care: Integrating Outcomes Data into Management Information Systems.- 11 Information Systems Strategic Planning: A Healthcare Enterprise Approach.- 12 Information Systems: A Competitive Advantage for Managing Health Care.- 13 Methods and Models for Planning Strategically.- 14 The Chief Information Officer: Past, Present, and Future.- 15 Health Informatics and Organizational Change.- 16 The Legacy of Advancing Technology: Ethical Issues and Healthcare Information Management Systems.- 17 Centralized and Distributed Information Systems: Two Architecture Approaches for the 1990s.- 18 Choosing and Installing an Information System.- 19 Understanding the Purchasing and Installation Process.- 20 Computerization: Priorities for Nursing Administration.- 21 Nursing Informatics Research: The National Agenda.- 22 Using the Computer to Manage Change in the Clinical Pathology Lab.- 23 Computer-Enhanced Radiology: A Transformation to Imaging.- 24 Computer Skills Needed by Healthcare Executives.- 25 Technology-Assisted Training for the Clinical Nurse.- 26 Consulting in the Last Half of the 1990s.- 27 Maximizing the Benefits of Using Consultants.- 28 Managing Consulting Services: A Guide for the CIO.- Contributors.