Students will follow a twelve week guided study programme and access support material via Blackboard. Students will be required to access additional support material independently. Core required tasks will amount to an average of 8 hours of engagement per week, representing a total of 96 activity engagement hours for the module.

The number of independent study hours is 204, representing a combination of further and additional reading and a series of optional tasks (96 hours) and specific preparation for the module assignments (108 hours).

This module will adopt a collaborative approach to learning where, via a series of on-line discussions (that will form part of the assessment process).

Central to this approach will be a series of on-line debates or discussion issues that will arise out of the 'Activities' and accompanying 'Tasks' undertaken within the module. Students will be required to initially outline, defend and subsequently reflect on a position or viewpoint offered, that will be critically commented on by fellow students.

Access to an appropriately specified PC, with accompanying Word, PowerPoint, Adobe and Java software.

This module will provide students with a broad understanding of the application of health information and information systems important in strategic policy and commissioning decision making, upkeep and maintenance of routine patient health records/data and audit. Students will be introduced to key concepts, technologies and issues in information technology and their application to healthcare. Specific attention will be focussed on the emerging context of management information as informed by policy developments such as clinical governance and risk management.
The module will include;
- An overview of the collection of data, manipulation and use of information for operational use, efficiency and effectiveness, clinical and service audit.
- The principles underlying the Data Protection Act and the Caldicott report.
- The roles of information, IT and IM&T and range of electronic patient record systems within the UK NHS and other international health systems.
- Application of practical skills in using on-line information and information from available NHS databases.
- The opportunity to manipulate data and prepare analyses suitable for incorporation in standard reports.
- Discussion of some of the current issues in healthcare informatics.

A written assignment (max 3,000 words): Using one case-study as an illustration, provide a critical analysis of the current information system in your chosen work-place illustrating this with specific IT systems used.
(addressing LO's 1 and 3)

and,

Write notes of 1,000 words for each of three scenarios requiring responses from health information specialists in the health care context.
(addressing LO's 2 and 4)

BOTH elements of assessment must be passed

Students will receive formative feedback throughout the module comprising of a combination of task related feedback and also comments directed through discussion boards during the course of the delivery of the module.

Health Informatics is a dynamic and quickly changing field of healthcare; recommended texts may therefore need to change to reflect the current situation. A list of recommended texts will therefore be provided in the Module Handbook for each year.

Additional reading will be given each week throughout the module.