What informatics is and isn't

Abstract

The term informatics is currently enveloped in chaos. One way to clarify the meaning of informatics is to identify the competencies associated with training in the field, but this approach can conceal the whole that the competencies atomistically describe. This work takes a different approach by offering three higher-level visions of what characterizes the field, viewing informatics as: (1) cross-training between basic informational sciences and an application domain, (2) the relentless pursuit of making people better at what they do, and (3) a field encompassing four related types of activities. Applying these perspectives to describe what informatics is, one can also conclude that informatics is not: tinkering with computers, analysis of large datasets per se, employment in circumscribed health IT workforce roles, the practice of health information management, or anything done using a computer.