The Health Informatics Society of Australia Ltd (HISA) is a

scientific society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

, established in 1992, for health informaticians and those with an interest in

health informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...

. Health informatics is the science and practice around

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...

in health that leads to informed and assisted

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

. ‘Informed’ here means ‘that the right information about the subject (consumer, patient or population) together with relevant health knowledge, is available at the right time and in a form that allows it to be used’. ‘Assisted’ here means ‘that the job of the

healthcare worker A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician (suc ...

is made safer and easier and that the health consumer is supported in their decisions and actions’.

E-health eHealth (also written e-health) is a relatively recent healthcare practice supported by electronic processes and communication, dating back to at least 1999. Usage of the term varies as it covers not just "Internet medicine" as it was conceived ...

, defined by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

as the combined use of electronic communication and information technology in the health sector, is a sub-discipline of health informatics. HISA aims to improve health through health informatics. It provides a national focus for the science and practice of health informatics, and for its practitioners - health informaticians, as well as for the associated industry and users. It develops policy, advocates on behalf of its members and provides opportunities for learning and

professional development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and ...

in health informatics. Its membership is drawn from consumers, clinicians and other health information systems users as well as health informaticians, engineers, scientists, technologists, systems developers, managers, psychologists, lawyers, policy officers, researchers and others. HISA has communities of practice in nursing informatics, user experience, clinical informatics,

cybersecurity Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

and digital hospital design. One of the education activities of the society is the annual national Health Informatics Conference (HIC) which attracts around 1000 delegates and features a sizeable trade show and the country's only

interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader defi ...

demonstration. HISA is the national affiliate of the

International Medical Informatics Association The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) is an independent organization that plays a role in promoting and furthering the application of information science in modern society, particularly in the fields of healthcare, bioscience ...

IMIA National Member
/ref> and convener of the Coalition for E-Health.

References

External links

Health Informatics Society of Australia (HISA)

HIC 2010
{{Health informatics Health informatics and eHealth associations Organisations based in Melbourne