The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) is an independent organization that plays a role in promoting and furthering the application of

information science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of information. ...

in modern society, particularly in the fields of

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 pro ...

bioscience ''BioScience'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It was established in 1964 and was preceded by the ''AIBS Bulletin'' (1951–19 ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

. It was established in 1967 as a technical committee of the

International Federation for Information Processing The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is a global organisation for researchers and professionals working in the field of computing to conduct research, develop standards and promote information sharing. Established in 196 ...

(IFIP). It became an independent organization in 1987 and was established under Swiss law in 1989.

Goals and objectives

* the promotion of informatics in

health care 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 pr ...

and

biomedical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from " basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scienti ...

* the advancement of international cooperation * the stimulation of

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

* the dissemination and exchange of information Inherent in this mission is to bring together, from a global perspective,

scientists A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophi ...

researchers Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

vendors In a supply chain, a vendor, supplier, provider or a seller, is an enterprise that contributes goods or services. Generally, a supply chain vendor manufactures inventory/stock items and sells them to the next link in the chain. Today, these terms ...

consultants A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servi ...

and suppliers in an environment of cooperation and sharing. The international membership network of national member societies, IMIA regions, corporate and academic institutional members, and working and special interest groups, constitute the "IMIA family". IMIA organizes various conferences and events around the world and is currently focusing on "bridging the knowledge gap" by facilitating and providing support to developing nations. Specific goals include supporting the ongoing development of the African Region.

Code of Ethics for Health Information Professionals

The International Medical Informatics Association approved the endorsement of the IMIA Code of Ethics for Health Information Professionals at its General Assembly meeting on October 4, 2002 in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. The code is the culmination of several years of a global collaborative effort led by IMIA's working Group on Data Protection in Health Information, Chaired by Professor Ab Baker. In 2016, the General Assembly approved an updated version of th
Code of Ethics
which was authored by Dr. Eike-Henner W. Kluge, Professor of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Victoria in Victoria, BC, Canada

Membership

IMIA membership consists of Society, Academic and Corporate Institutional and Affiliate Members and Honorary Fellows.

Society Members

Official Publications of the International Medical Informatics Association

IMIA Yearbook (Schattauer Publishers Stuttgart)ACI - Applied Clinical Informatics (Thieme Group)Informatics for Health and Social Care (Taylor & Francis)International Journal of Medical Informatics (Elsevier)Methods of Information in Medicine (Thieme Group)BMJ Health & Care Informatics (British Medical Journal)

Working and special interest groups

The IMIA family includes a growing number of Working and Special Interest Groups, which consist of individuals who share common interests in a particular focal field. The groups hold Working Conferences on leading edge and timely health and medical informatics issues. IMIA Working Groups and Special Interest Groups include: * Accident & Emergency Informatics * Data Mining and Big Data Analytics * Dental Informatics * Ethics, Privacy and Security in Health Informatics * Exposome Informatics * Francophone Special Interest Group * Health and

Medical 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 ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

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 ...

for

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

* Health Informatics for Patient Safety * Health Information Systems (HIS) * Health Record Banking * History of BioMedical and Health Informatics * Human Factors Engineering for Health Informatics * Language and Meaning in Biomedicine * Nursing Informatics Special Interest Group - IMIA NI SIG * One Digital Health *

Open Source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized so ...

* Organizational and Social Issues * Participatory Health and Social Media * Primary Health Care Informatics * Smart Homes & Ambient Assisted Living * Standards in Health Care Informatics * Student & Emerging Professionals SIG * Technology Assessment & Quality Development in Health Informatics (WG 15) * Telehealth

References

{{Authority control International organisations based in Switzerland Health informatics and eHealth associations