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Jan H. van Bemmel successfully contributed to research and education in medical informatics. He inspired a lot of people in The Netherlands and internationally.

Summary Objective: To give an introduction to the special topic on ‘Medical Informatics: Art or Sciene?‘ in honor of Prof. Dr. Jan Hendrik van Bemmel. Method: Retrospective, personal review on his work. Results and Conclusions: Jan H. van Bemmel contributed exceptionally to research and education as well as to systematizing and promoting medical informatics. Details are provided in this and the other papers of this special topic of Methods of Information in Medicine.

The 1992 IMIA Yearbook of Medical Informatics reflects the worldwide research and development in medicine and health care where computers play an essential role. Most of today' s hospitals and practices are equipped with computers for the support of patient care, administration, and data communication. The development of such systems is based on extensive experience, obtained only after several generations of people and systems. A substantial part of the development of these systems can still be considered an art; the science required for such developmentis continuously expanding in size and importance.

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