The need for an Allied Health Informatics SIG

The need for an Allied Health Informatics SIG arises due to the dearth of involvement (globally) by allied health professionals in health informatics and e-health initiatives which will shape how healthcare is delivered and administered in the future.  This SIG aims to give a national and international voice to the numerous allied health disciplines within the interdisciplinary world of health care informatics.

See attached briefing paper (Schaper, August 2007).

Scope & Definitions

• E-health
• Health informatics
• Allied health
• Allied health informatics
• Information and communications technology (ICT)

E-Health - The use and application of ICT in the health sector.  It covers the use of digital information stored and transmitted electronically - for clinical, educational and administrative purposes.

Health informatics - A discipline concerned with the development, dissemination and use of ICT in healthcare to create, store and manage health information.  It forms part of the wider domain of e-health and seeks to facilitate improved health care outcomes through the dissemination and utilisation of information, knowledge and technology. 

Allied Health

The definition and inclusion of various professions under the term ‘allied health' differs internationally.  However, for the purposes of this SIG, allied health professionals are tertiary qualified health professionals who apply their skills to diagnose, restore and maintain optimal physical, sensory, psychological, cognitive and social function. They are aligned with each other and their clients (definition from SARRAH).

Professions may include:

• Audiology
• Nutrition & Dietetics
• Exercise Physiology
• Medical Radiation Science (Diagnostic and Therapeutic Radiography, Nuclear Medicine)
• Occupational Therapy
• Optometry
• Orthoptics
• Orthotics and Prosthetics
• Pharmacy
• Physiotherapy
• Podiatry
• Psychology
• Radiography & Radiation Therapy
• Social Work
• Sonography
• Speech Pathology 

However, this list is not exhaustive and we are always keen to hear from allied health professionals from various disciplines.

Allied health informatics - is the integration of allied health, its information, and information management with information processing and communication technology, to support the health of people world wide. (This temporary definition has been adopted from the IMIA definition of nursing informatics).

Information and communication technologies (ICT) - A collective term used to describe a wide range of technologies designed to facilitate communication and the flow of information.  These technologies include personal computers, the Internet, email, videoconferencing, telehealth and mobile technologies such as handheld or tablet computers.