Ethics, Medicine, and Information Technology: Intelligent Machines and the Transformation of Health Care

Description

Information technology is transforming the practices of medicine, nursing, and biomedical research. Computers can now render diagnoses and prognoses more accurately than humans. The concepts of privacy and confidentiality are evolving as data moves from paper to silicon to clouds. Big data promises financial wealth, as well as riches of information and benefits to science and public health. Online access and mobile apps provide patients with an unprecedented connection to their health and health records. This transformation is as unsettling as it is exhilarating. This unique new book is essential for anyone who uses computers in health care, biomedical research or public health, and cares about the ethical issues that arise in their work. With chapters spanning issues from professionalism and quality to mobile health and bioinformatics, it establishes what will become the 'core curriculum' in ethics and health informatics, a growing field which encourages truly inter- and multidisciplinary inquiry.

Kenneth W. Goodman is founder and director of the Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, and co-director of the university's ethics programs.

'All in all, this is an excellent compact volume that can serve a number of purposes. It is certainly a primer on the main ethical issues that affect biomedical informatics and will be useful not only to informatics professionals but also to practitioners, researchers, and others interested in the topic.' William Hersh, Journal of Biomedical Informatics