University Of Vermont Center For Clinical And Translational Science College

University of Vermont Center for Clinical and Translational Science College of Medicine

SYLLABUS CTS 395: Introduction to Biomedical Informatics Fall 2009, 3 Credits. Wednesday 13:00 – 16:00, Location TBA Instructor:

Neil Sarkar, PhD, MLIS MCHV/Baird 731B 802-847-3837 [email protected] office hours by appointment

COURSE SUMMARY This survey course provides an overview of the field of biomedical informatics covering relevant topics in computer science, healthcare, biology, and social science. Particular emphasis is given to understanding the organization of medical information, the effective management of information using computer technology, and the impact of such technology on medical research, education, and patient care. A major aim of this course is to explore the process of developing and applying computational techniques for assessing current information practices, determining the information needs of health care providers and patients, developing interventions involving computer technology, and evaluating the impact of those interventions. The final capstone project of this course requires the in-depth examination, critique, and presentation of a specific topic in biomedical informatics, ideally within the context of student (clinical or computational) interests. This course has no pre-requisite requirements. No assumptions are made about computer science or clinical background; however, some experience with computers and a high-level familiarity with health care will be useful. This course does not require any programming knowledge, and it will not teach students how to write programs.

The course is open to junior/senior level undergraduates, graduate students, and clinical fellows. Auditors are permitted with specific permission from the instructor, and are expected to participate in all course activities. GOALS & LEARNING OBJECTIVES The goal of this course is for students to gain a broad level understanding of biomedical informatics. To this end, it is expected that, by the end of the course, students will have an understanding of biomedical informatics and its relationship to the various aspects of the healthcare continuum. Specific learning objectives are thus to: Understand the role of biomedical informatics in the healthcare process Conceptualize how biomedical informatics approaches can be used in the development of clinical interventions, patient care, and quality assessments Become familiar with the different facets of biomedical informatics, including (but not limited to) bioinformatics, clinical informatics, imaging informatics, and public health informatics Identify and, where applicable, quantify advantages and limitations of computational applications to healthcare REQUIRED TEXTBOOK / MATERIAL Shortliffe EH, Cimino JJ, editors. Biomedical Informatics: Computer Applications in Health Care and Biomedicine (3rd Edition). New York: Springer; 2006. ISBN-13: 978-0-387-28986-1 Additional reading material will be distributed as needed via COMET. GRADING CRITERIA / ATTENDANCE POLICY The graded elements of the course and their contribution to the final grade are: Attendance Weekly Posts (3/week) Projects 1 & 2 Mid-Term Examination

15% 15% 20% 15%

Capstone Project

15%

Final Examination

20%

Specific criteria details: Attendance is mandatory and will be taken at a random moment during each lecture; Un-excused absences will result in a 5% deduction in the attendance grade. Students are expected to make a minimum of three thoughtful and substantial posts to the weekly discussion via COMET. These posts should contribute intellectual content to the week’s discussion thread. Three term projects will be submitted during the course. These may be submitted anytime before the final exam. One of these projects will be labeled by the student as their “capstone project,” which is in an area that is of intellectual or personal interest to the student. Projects may be done individually or in collaboration with at most two other students. While it is possible to submit all three projects at once, this is highly discouraged. Mid-term and Final Examinations will comprise of both objective and subjective questions. Both examinations will be open-book and opennotes. CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT EXPECTATIONS All lectures will be done in traditional format in combination with COMET based classroom discussion. Students are expected to contribute to discussions in both lectures and via COMET (see grading criteria/attendance policy above). SCHEDULE OF TOPICS AND ASSIGNED READINGS (Subject to change, current as of 2009-02-10) Date 9/2 9/9 9/16 9/23 9/30 10/7 10/14 10/21 10/28 11/4 11/11

Topic Introduction to Biomedical Informatics Clinical Data Acquisition and Use Terminologies, Vocabularies, and Ontologies Unstructured Clinical Data & Information Retrieval Electronic Health Records & Evaluation Clinical Decision Support Infrastructure MIDTERM Cognitive Science & Medical Education Patient Care and Telehealth Public Health & Consumer Health Informatics

Reading Ch 1, 2 Ch 7 Ch 8, Ch 19 Ch 12, Ch 11 Ch 3, Ch 20 Ch 5, Ch 6 Ch 4, Ch 21 Ch 16, Ch 17 Ch 14, Ch 15

11/18 11/25 12/2 12/9 12/16

Imaging Informatics Bioinformatics Management & Finances Ethics & The Future of Biomedical Informatics FINAL

Ch 9, Ch 18 Ch 22 Ch 13, Ch 23 Ch 10, Ch 24

OTHER IMPORTANT ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Student Learning Accommodations: If you have a formal accommodation plan developed in conjunction with UVMs ACCESS Office or would like to discuss the supports that you need in order to learn well in this class, please contact me in the beginning of the semester. Adaptations and instructional supports are available through consultation with the instructor and the ACCESS Office. Details about UVM ACCESS Office can be found at: www.uvm.edu/~access/ UVM’s policy on disability certification and student support: www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/disability.pdf Religious Holidays: Students have the right to practice the religion of their choice. If you need to miss class to observe a religious holiday, please submit the dates of your absence to me in writing by the end of the second full week of classes. You will be permitted to make up work within a mutually agreed-upon time. Academic Integrity: Academic honesty is expected and will be enforced. The UVM policy addresses details pertaining to plagiarism, fabrication, collusion, and cheating: www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/acadintegrity.pdf Grade Appeals: If you would like to contest a grade, please follow the procedures outlined in this policy: www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/gradeappeals.pdf Grading: For information on grading and GPA calculation, go to www.uvm.edu/academics/catalogue and click on Policies for an A-Z listing. Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities: www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/studentcode.pdf FERPA Rights Disclosure: The purpose of this policy is to communicate the rights of students regarding access to, and privacy of their student educational records as provided for in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974. http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppg/ppg/student/ferpa.pdf Final Exam Policy: The University final exam policy outlines expectations during final exams and explains timing and process of examination period. www.uvm.edu/academics/catalogue200708/?Page=allpolicies.php&SM=policymenu.html&policy=Examinations