Disease Classification and the Organization of Large-Scale Web Sites      

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has been employed by the world's public health officials to chart the nature, frequency, and geographic origins of diseases and causes of death in human populations since the late nineteenth century. The ICD has been modified every decade since the 1890s, and a study by Bowker and Star of these changes, in concert with the work of others on the practices employed in information mapping, can be used to better understand the organization of large-scale web sites. Specifically, web designers must adapt classification schemes to fit multiple social worlds. Additionally, we need to understand that these systems can become so entrenched in our thinking that they become "invisible," thus undermining our ability to adapt them as future needs or insights arise.

Applen, J.D. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2001). Articles>Information Design>Web Design>Biomedical

Evolution of the Emergency Medical Services Profession: A Case Study of EMS Run Reports      

Often the first of many documents written about patients, the emergency medical service’s run report is a preprinted form on which providers record the events of an emergency. These forms are important analytically because they represent the practices and interests of the multiple professions engaged in caring for critically ill or injured patients. This article examines the historical evolution of a shared medical form and its impact on the professionals who use it.

Munger, Roger H. Technical Communication Quarterly (2000). Design>Information Design>Biomedical

Lessons from the Medical Community: Physicians Access Patient Information via PDAs

Genesys, a system of medical care facilities in central Michigan, has introduced an innovative way to couple emerging mobile communication technology with sophisticated medical care. Recently, the hospital system introduced the use of hand-held wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs) by physicians in its 440-bed system, which is made up of three local hospitals merged into one.

Ficorelli, Cindy. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Information Design>Wireless Web>Biomedical

MD:Notes: Designing an Information System for Public Hospitals  

By its very nature, an EMR (electronic medical record) is not subject to the physical limitations of a paper chart. Many clinics can access a patient’s EMR at once. EMRs are never in transit or waiting to be filed. For these reasons, using all-electronic records would greatly alleviate the problem of missing charts, and result in more efficient patient care.

Ahern, Katherine, Zachary Gillen and Jill Blue Lin. University of California Berkeley (2008). Articles>Information Design>Biomedical

Personal Identifiability in the Icelandic Health Sector Database  

Personal identifiability is a fundamental question in the ongoing debate about the Icelandic Bill and Act on the Health Sector Database (HSD). If the data are personally identifiable, Iceland's international legal commitments indicate that a priori consent must be obtained from patients for the use of their personal medical information. The HSD Act presumes that one-way coding of personal identifiers renders the data non-personally identifiable and that therefore a priori consent is not required. The history of the debate on the HSD shows that the concept of personal identifiability was initially based on a notion of 'considerable amount of time and manpower' as a criterion for defining personal identifiability. This definition comes from Recommendation R(97)5 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on Medical Data. As a result of the Icelandic Data Protection Commission's opinion on the HSD, that concept was rejected and the resulting Bill and HSD Act adopted a definition from the European Data Protection Directive (95/46). The rejected concept, however, reentered with the idea that one-way coding of personal identifiers means there is no key that can be used to trace the identity of a person in the database. The question of what constitutes a key in this context is of fundamental importance. The database will collect and link data from different sources on individuals over time and therefore the method of coding must remain stable. It is possible therefore to construct a look-up table, which constitutes a key. Keys can also be built from comparisons of patterns of family trees as well as by putting generally available information into context The information in the Health Sector Database is personal information. Therefore reason and justice require that a priori consent be obtained from patients for the transfer of their health data to the database as Iceland's international legal obligations stipulate. Anything less is unreasonable and unjust.

Arnason, Einar. JILT (2002). Articles>Information Design>Biomedical

The Sociobiology of Information Architecture

Long before anyone was looking for 'godfathers' of information architecture, our fellow species were wrestling with some of the same problems we face today. The real godfathers of information architecture, as it turns out, emerged a very long time ago with the earliest origins of life on this planet.

Wright, Alex. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Information Design>Biomedical

XML In The Pharmaceutical Industry: Structured Product Labeling

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are required by law to compile and maintain over a multi-year life-cycle, large and complex collections of documents for submission to national regulatory agencies in order to obtain and sustain marketing approval for drugs and biologically active substances. The content includes both data and textual narrative, and is of great value in terms of intellectual property and legal liability. Over the past few years a cooperative effort between the regulators and industry has developed XML-based standards for electronic submission.

Thomas, Keith. IDEAlliance (2004). Articles>Information Design>Biomedical>XML

Playing Doctor? Trends in Health Information Seeking on the Web

Evolving and improving technology can improve health and healthcare in a myriad of ways. Equipment that is designed with the user, task, and environment in mind will reduce errors and improve outcomes. New designs make it possible for patients to do things for themselves that previously only doctors could.

Straub, Kathleen. UI Design Newsletter (2007). Articles>Information Design>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

A Grounded Theory Model of On-Duty Critical Care Nurses' Information Behavior: The Patient-Chart Cycle of Informative Interactions     

Critical care nurses' work is rich in informative interactions. Although there have been post-hoc self report studies of nurses' information seeking, there have been no observational studies of the patterns of their on-duty information behavior. This paper seeks to address this issue.

McKnight, Michelynn. Journal of Documentation (2007). Articles>Information Design>Scientific Communication>Biomedical

Use and Outcome of Online Health Information Services: A Study Among Scottish Population    

The purpose of this paper is to report on a research designed to find out how people in Scotland access and use online health information.

Harbour, Jenny and Gobinda G. Chowdhury. Journal of Documentation (2007). Articles>Information Design>Scientific Communication>Biomedical