http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Knowledge-Management/Biomedical A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Knowledge Management and Biomedical in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Knowledge-Management/Biomedical http://tc.eserver.org/32299.html http://tc.eserver.org/32299.html Health informatics concerns the use of information and information and communication technologies within healthcare. Health informatics and information science need to take account of the unique aspects of health and medicine. The development of information systems and electronic records within health needs to consider the information needs and behaviour of all users. The sensitivity of personal health data raises ethical concerns for developing electronic records. E-health initiatives must actively involve users in the design, development, implementation and evaluation, and information science can contribute to understanding the needs and behaviour of user groups. Health informatics could make an important contribution to the ageing society and to reducing the digital divide and health divides within society. There is a need for an appropriate evidence base within health informatics to support future developments, and to ensure health informatics reaches its potential to improve the health and well-being of patients and the public. http://tc.eserver.org/28135.html http://tc.eserver.org/28135.html India's medical tradition and knowledge base can be traced back to the Vedas (c.5000 BC), especially the Atharvaveda. The works of Charaka and Sushruta (c.2000 years ago) are well known. Parts of this ancient knowledge have been passed down generations by word of mouth and through the gurukula system. However, documentation about the incidence of diseases, the state of health of the people, medical practices and health care delivery in India during the period prior to the 18th century is meager, the sources being mainly the notes, memoirs and travelogues of visiting travelers. During the colonial period (c.1615-1930) western medical practices took roots in the country. The colonial powers recognizing that 'knowledge is power', commissioned surveys and studies about the terrain, fauna, flora, climate, environment, customs, and indigenous health practices, etc. in different parts of India. Officers of the Indian Medical Service (IMS) wrote over 1400 books, reports, tracts and papers covering a wide range of medical and health topics. Such sources together with the tacit knowledge of the officers involved contributed to the 'colonial knowledge base'. This paper discusses briefly this knowledge base and lists the writings of the IMS officers in the fields of (1) materia medica, (2) botanical studies including Indian medicinal plants, and (3) medical topography of India. http://tc.eserver.org/26506.html http://tc.eserver.org/26506.html The following paper discusses my experiences with knowledge management at a large pharmaceutical company. I will begin with a brief description of the operation of my department. Then I will go into some detail about the knowledge market at my job. I will continue with a discussion on knowledge mapping and finally the importance of a common language. http://tc.eserver.org/26504.html http://tc.eserver.org/26504.html Knowledge management plays a very critical role in the day-to-day operations of my organization. The transfer of knowledge is shared verbally through casual conversations, meetings, conference calls, brainstorming sessions, and voice mail. Written communication appears daily in the form of memos, sticky notes, and e-mail. Documents such as records, change control forms, policies and standard operating procedures must be retained by my company. These papers often contain business critical data that needs to be stored and referenced at a later time. In order to manage this extensive list of documents, there are several management systems implemented throughout the corporation. Areas such as Human Resources, Finance, Clinical Research and Content Management utilize these systems to support their business activities. As a content specialist in the Pharmaceutical industry, I am responsible for supporting some of these systems. Some of the content that I support can be considered simply data. This type of material includes image files, such as GIFs and JPEGs, javascripts and customized ASP or JAVA files. These files are not referenced by employees and are used to support the functionality of the management systems. The primary system used throughout the organization for managing content is Documentum. http://tc.eserver.org/10388.html http://tc.eserver.org/10388.html This article introduces a way of working with drug development teams that relies on writing as a key development activity. The work of cross-functional teams in pharmaceutical research and development can be guided by the use of tools normally thought of as 'writing' tools. Writing can be used intentionally to help teams develop their thinking, identify and respond to troublesome issues, and develop project documentation efficiently. The article introduces the use of a 'seed document' (one step in a systematic, wholly collaborative, document development process) to establish a conceptual knowledge bank for a development team, and demonstrates how complex documentation can flow naturally out of the evolving seed document. The authors argue that structured writing can help team members, who have varying perspectives and expertise, engage in substantive conflict and reach consensus on team responses to difficult issues.