Medical Informatics and Bioinformatics: European Efforts to Facilitate Synergy

Abstract

Over the past decade there have been several attempts to rethink the basic strategies and scope of medical informatics. Meanwhile, bioinformatics has only recently experienced a similar debate about its scientific character. Both disciplines envision the development of novel diagnostic, therapeutic, and management tools, and products for patient care. A combination of the expertise of medical informatics in developing clinical applications and the focused principles that have guided bioinformatics could create a synergy between the two areas of application. Such interaction could have a great influence on future health research and the ultimate goal, namely continuity and individualization of health care. This article summarizes current activities related to facilitating synergy between medical informatics and bioinformatics, emphasizing activities in Europe while relating them to efforts in other parts of the world. The report provides examples of the analysis that European investigators are carrying out, aiming to propose new ideas for collaborations between medical informatics and bioinformatics researchers in a variety of areas.

Networkcentric healthcare and bioinformatics: Unified operations within three domains of knowledge

“…Already now, several authors suggest a Fig. 7 (continued) merger of 'classical' bioinformatics with medical informatics into a super-entity of health informatics whose relevance to both the immediate practice of medicine and the multi-stage process of healthcare delivery will be significantly higher (Gerogioi, 2002;Li, Tian & Yang, 1998;Maojo et al, 2001;Maojo & Kulikowski, 2003;Zvarova & Masic, 1996). These are, however, the views of the future, maybe even a distant future.…”

e-MIR2: a public online inventory of medical informatics resources

“…From the point of view of sharing resources, open source systems and technologies play a key role. In addition, developing resources using open technologies could result in collateral benefits for developing countries, as we have earlier emphasized in the analysis of an international initiative, including partners and experts from Europe, the USA, Latin America and Africa [25]. Applications can be shared for basic research or academic use without strong copyright restrictions.…”

Nanoinformatics: developing new computing applications for nanomedicine

“…Informaticians have successfully contributed to these areas, leading to outstanding results such as the Human Genome and other –omics projects, the computerization of clinical practice or the creation of computerized systems for decision support [4]. The authors have been active in informatics research supporting a number of projects in the past decades and pioneered significant examples such as, among others, medical expert systems [5–7]. …”