Throughout the world, healthcare professionals often lack knowledge of the possibilities and limitations of systematically processing data, information and knowledge and of the resulting impact on quality decision-making. They are often asked to use information technologies of which they have limited appreciation, in order to enhance their practices through better use of information resources. However, for systematically processing data, information and knowledge in medicine and in healthcare, healthcare professionals who are well-trained in medical informatics or health informatics are needed. It will only be through improved education of healthcare professionals and through an increase in the number of well-trained workers in health and medical informatics that this lack of knowledge and associated skills can begin to be reversed. Although we can recognize further progress in educating health and a considerable number of educational programs for health informatics / medical informatics specialists have been set up, there is still a need to enhance these educational activities world wide, considering global developments as well as new curricular concepts and technological opportunities. IMIA and in particular its working group on health and medical informatics education is the leading international society stimulating such educational activities in various ways. This book is especially helpful for educators in the field of health / medical informatics.
