transmission, protection against unauthorized use, etc. Secondly, the preference on
their usage depends on geographic principle: biomedical informatics is commonly used
in the USA, health informatics prevails in Canada while medical informatics –
primarily in English language documents of European countries.
It is also determined that the extensive system of such MI-related terms as
‘bioinformatics’, ‘clinical informatics’, ‘nursing informatics’, ‘dental informatics’,
‘public health informatics’, ‘pathology informatics’, ‘imaging informatics’, etc.,
represents the branches of MI as an umbrella term. They appear as a result of
penetrating information and communication technologies into narrow areas of
medicine and healthcare system. Therefore, the determinants in front of ‘informatics’
indicate a particular sphere of MI practical application.
Main directions of medical informatics education development. MI education
is a dynamic phenomenon in the system of higher education, yet its definition requires
clarification in the context of our research. We made an attempt to obtain its synthetic
meaning on analyzing most widely spread definitions of its constituent elements, i.e.
‘education’ and ‘medical informatics’. Based on our finding, MI education is defined
as a process and result of acquiring knowledge, developing skills and creating tools to
process medical data and information with the help of modern information and
communication technologies.
In our research work, MI education is used as an umbrella term, which should be
studied through the prism of other two pedagogical categories – MI as an academic
discipline for medical students and MI as a specialty in the system of higher education.
We observe the similar differentiation of MI education at the international level. In
particular, our approach is consistent with the approach of International Medical
Informatics Association. It argues for developing MI competency by medical students
as competent users of medical information technologies and also considers it vital to
train MI professionals as a qualified workforce in informatization of the healthcare
system [22].
It should be highlighted that the development of MI education is a logical
consequence of attempts to computerize medicine and healthcare system. Technical
innovations and advances of information technology have doubtlessly made a positive
impact on health servicing. However, MI scholars insist that a technically flawless
system does not always guarantee its perfect functioning in practice. The effectiveness
of medical information technology primarily depends on a potential user and a
competent professional working on its creation and servicing. If a medical practitioner
has no knowledge and skills to process medical data and information with computers,
they will definitely protest against the introduction of such a technology in their routine
practice. And the progress in information technology for medical purposes will be slow
if the system of MI professional training is poorly developed. Thus, MI leading experts
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