Biomedical Informatics Areas of Study

Biomedical informatics is a broad interdisciplinary field encompassing the use of biomedical data for the purpose of improving human health. There are three main associations for the biomedical informatics community. The most prominent, The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) concerns itself with the scientific aspect of biomedical information, where biomedical data is utilized for research and inquiry. The second, the American Health Informatics Management Association (AHIMA) seems geared towards the management of biomedical data; the organization of data, data storage and retrieval systems. And the third, The Health Information Systems Society concerns itself with the technologies involved with the management of health information. Although all three associations are relevant to all five of the basic categories of biomedical informatics practice to a degree, AMIA is more for bioinformatics professionals working in in pure science where AHIMA and HIMSS appear more for applied science professionals working in clinical informatics, consumer and public health informatics professionals. Translational bioinformatics, for instance, encompasses the utilization of clinical research informatics data and integrating it with genomic and proteomic informatics data for translational research. It seems to span the science as well as the management of the data, in addition to the associated technologies.

Although the field is rapidly evolving, AIMA currently lists five basic categories of practice in the field of biomedical informatics. The first, translational bioinformatics uses the immense amount of data collected in cellular and molecular processes like DNA sequences for predictive, preventive and participatory health. It also includes research into the integration of biological and clinical data. The second, clinical research informatics is concerned with the management of clinical trial data. And using clinical trial data and information for secondary research, generally for translational research in conjunction with translational bioinformatics. The third, clinical informatics, sometimes referred to as applied clinical informatics, deals with health care delivery information systems like patient registration systems and clinical laboratory information management systems. The next two are commonly grouped together as health informatics, they are public health informatics for health data on populations and society, and consumer health informatics for data on health plans, providers and consumer education.

Personally, I have two main areas of interest in field of biomedical informatics and interestingly enough, together they span both the management and scientific components of the field. My first interest is in how health care organizations utilize data warehouses for the purpose of health data analytics and reporting. I feel there is great opportunity to optimize the design of data warehouses more toward their intended use- be it deep data mining and analysis, or general administrative reporting. My second area of interest is within bioinformatics itself. I feel the study of protein folding could greatly benefit from optimized predictive algorithms. This area appears particularly challenging from my perspective since the genesis of proteins from “folding” involves so many complex chemical bonds and biological processes (Yeargers, Shonkwiler, Herod. 1996). It seems like a very interesting and stimulating area to study.

The study of biomedical informatics offers a vast and diverse field of practice and specialization, ranging from deep science, studying the molecular and cellular process of the human body, to the practice of managing public data sets. Although I have a greater interest in the bioinformatics areas, I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge of all the aspects of biomedical informatics.

(n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2016, from https://www.amia.org/

Joint AMIA/AHIMA Summary of their Relationship and Links to the Informatics Field. (n.d.). Retrieved September 25, 2016, from http://bok.ahima.org/doc?oid=106812#.V-hjFSErJhG

Yeargers, E. K., Shonkwiler, R. W., & Herod, J. V. (1996). An introduction to the mathematics of biology: With computer algebra models. Boston: Birkhäuser.

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