NURS-5381-Healthcare Informatics for 21st Century
Programmable read-only memory
Form of digital memory where the setting of each bit is locked on a chip by a fuse or antifuse. PROM is used to store programs permanently, so it is useful in applications where the programming needs to be permanent. The device cannot be erased, so it much be replaced if changes are deemed necessary in the system.
Instant message
Form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text conveyed via computers connected over a network.
Hard disk
Magnetic disk that stores electronic data.
Conceptual framework
Framework used in research to chart feasible courses of action or to present a desired approach to a study or analysis; built from a set of concepts that are related to a proposed or existing system of methods, behaviors, functions, relationships, and objects. A relational model. A formal way of thinking or conceptualizing about a phenomenon, process, or system under study.
Mobile devices
Handheld computers, such as smartphones or tablets.
Firmware
Hardware and software programs or data written onto ROM, PROM, and EPROM.
Modem
Hardware that allows a user to send and receive information over the phone or cable lines, for example, with a computer. It enables Internet connectivity via a telephone line or cable connection through network adaptors situated within the computer apparatus.
Cognitive informatics
Field of study made up of the disciplines of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and psychology. This multidisciplinary study of cognition and information sciences investigates the human information-processing mechanisms and processes and their engineering applications in computing.
Peripheral component interconnection
Mechanism for attaching peripheral devices to a motherboard via computer bus, expansion slots, or integrated circuits.
Hardware
Physical or tangible parts of the computer. Computer parts that one can touch and that are involved in the performance or function of the computer, such as the keyboard and monitor.
Laptop
Portable battery-powered computer that the user can take with him or her. Also known as a notebook.
Email client
Program that manages email functions.
User friendly
Programs and peripherals that make it easy to interact or use computers. Design of a program to enhance the ease with which the user can utilize and maximize the productivity from computer programs.
Video adapter card
A board or card that is inserted or plugged into a computer to provide display capabilities.
Graphics card
A board that plugs into a personal computer to give it display capabilities.
Information
Data that are interpreted, organized, or structured. Data processed using knowledge or data made functional through the application of knowledge.
Double data rate synchronous dynamic random-access memory
A chip that allows for greater bandwidth and twice the transfers per the computer's internal clock's unit of time; one of the transfers occurs at the start of the new unit of time and the other transfer occurs at the end of the unit of time.
Indiana Health Information Exchange
A collaborative effort among institutions in Indiana to provide high-quality patient care and enhance the safety and efficiency of health care.
Consolidated health informatics
A collaborative effort to adopt health information interoperability standards, particularly health vocabulary and messaging standards, for implementation in federal government systems.
Database
A collection of related records stored in a computer system using software that permits a person or program to query the data so as to extract needed information; it may consist of one or more related data files or tables.
Connectionism
A component of cognitive science that uses computer modeling through artificial neural networks to try to explain human intellectual abilities.
Sound card
A computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs. Also known as an audio card.
Main memory
A computer's internal memory.
Massachusetts Health Data Consortium
A consortium of regional healthcare organizations that collects data, publishes comparative information, supports and promotes electronic standards, educates, and researches.
Relational database
A database that can store and retrieve data very rapidly.
Power supply
A device that supplies electrical energy or power; the device that provides the electrical energy or power to the computer. A battery can be a source of energy or power.
Touch screen
A display used as an input device for interacting with or relating to the display's materials or content. The user can touch or press on the designated display area to respond, execute, or request information or output.
Federal Health Information Exchange
A federal information technology healthcare initiative that enables the secure electronic one-way exchange of patient medical information from the Department of Defense's legacy health information system, the Composite Health Care System (CHSC), for all separated service members to the Veterans Affairs' (VA) VistA Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS). The point of care in veteran affairs.
Next-Generation Internet
A government project to develop new, faster technologies to enhance research and communication.
Motherboard
A key foundational computer component. All other components are connected to it in some way (either via local sockets, attached directly to it, or connected via cables). The essential structures include the major chipset, super I/O chip, BIOS, read-only memory, bus communications pathways, and a variety of sockets that allow components to plug into it.
Computer
A machine that stores and executes programs; a machine with peripheral hardware and software to carry out selected programming.
Universal serial bus
A means of connecting a myriad of plug-in devices, such as portable flash drives, digital cameras, MP3 players, graphics tablets, light pens, and so on, using a plug and play connection without rebooting the computer.
Internet2
A nonprofit consortium that develops and deploys advanced network applications and technologies, for education and high-speed data transfer purposes. Led by 212 universities, it is also known as University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development.
Electronically erasable programmable read-only memory
A nonvolatile storage chip used in computers and other devices to store small amounts of volatile data (e.g., calibration tables or device configuration).
USB flash drive
A portable memory device that uses electronically erasable programmable ROM to provide fast permanent memory. It is typically a removable and rewriteable device that includes flash memory and an integrated universal serial bus (USB) interface. They are portable, due to their small size; durable; dependable; and obtain their power from the device they are connected to via the USB port.
Data mining
A process of utilizing software to sort through data so as to discover patterns and ascertain or establish relationships. This process may help to discover or uncover previously unidentified relationships among the data in a database.
Mouse
A small device that one can roll along or scroll to control the movement of the pointer or cursor on a display and click to search for and/or execute features.
Logic
A system of thinking that uses principles of inference and reasoned ideas to govern actions.
Dissemination
A thoughtful, intentional, goal-oriented communication of specific, useful information or knowledge.
Intuition
A way of acquiring knowledge that cannot be obtained by inference, deduction, observation, reason, analysis, or experience.
Wi-Fi
A wireless technology brand owned by Wi-Fi Alliance, which is used to improve the interoperability of wireless networking devices.
Portability
Ability to be transported easily. For example, users can easily take handheld computers wherever they go.
Professional development
Acquisition of skills required for maintaining a specific career path or general skills offered through continuing education, including the more general skills area of personal development. It can be seen as training to keep current with changing technology and practices in a profession or as part of the concept of lifelong learning.
Presentation
Act of presenting or showing; typically uses presentation software in a slide show format. The most commonly used presentation software in the United States is Microsoft PowerPoint.
Processing
Acting on something by taking it through established procedures so as to convert it from one form to another.
Health Level 7
An accredited standards-developing organization that is committed to developing standard terminologies for information technology that support interoperability of healthcare information management systems.
Dots per inch switch
An actual switch on a computer mouse that allows you to adjust the mouse's sensitivity to movement to result in fast or slower mouse pointer speeds. Slowing the speed can enhance precision while speeding it up can facilitate large data transfers.
High-definition multimedia interface
An adapter that has expanded connectivity and transfer. It is replacing analog video standards as an audio/video interface that can transfer compressed and uncompressed video and digital audio data from any compliant device to compatible monitors, televisions, video projectors, and audio devices.
Nationwide Health Information Network
An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services charged with the development of a safe, secure, interoperable health information infrastructure.
Touch pad
An alternative to using a mouse. A device that senses the pressure of the user's finger along with the movement of the finger to control input positioning.
New England Health EDI Network
An example of an implementation model for building regional health information organizations that are functional, sustainable, and growing while reducing administrative costs.
NHII (National Health Information Infrastructure)
An initiative intended to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and overall quality of health and health care in the United States. A comprehensive knowledge-based network of interoperable systems of clinical, public health, and person health information that would improve decision making by making health information available when and where it is needed. The set of technologies, standards, applications, systems, values, and laws that support all facets of individual health, health care, and public health. It is voluntary and not a centralized database of medical records or a government regulation.
Library science
An interdisciplinary science that integrates law, applied science, and the humanities to study issues and topics related to libraries (collection, organization, preservation, archiving, and dissemination of information resources).
Serial port
An interface for connecting an external device that is capable of receiving only one bit at a time, such as a mouse, a modem, and some printers.
World Wide Web
An international network of computers and servers that offers access to stored documents written in HTML code, and access to graphics, audio, and video files.
Central processing unit
An old term for processors and microprocessors that execute computer programs, thought of as the brain controlling the functioning of the computer; the computer component that actually executes, calculates, and processes the binary computer code instigated by the operating system and other applications on the computer. It serves as the command center that directs the actions of all other components of the computer and manages both incoming and outgoing data.
Chief technology officers
Another name for chief technical officers.
Software
Anything that can be stored electronically. Divided into two types: system (includes the operating system and other software necessary for the computer to function) and application (allows user to complete specific tasks, such as word processors, spreadsheet software, presentation software, database managers, and media players).
FireWire
Apple Computer's version of a high-performance serial bus used to connect devices to a computer.
Transparent wisdom
Applying knowledge in a practical way or translating knowledge into actions without conscious thought.
Communication science
Area of concentration or discipline that studies human communication.
Evidence
Artifacts, productions, attestations, or other examples that demonstrate an individual's knowledge, skills, or valued attributes.
Building blocks
Basic elements or parts of nursing informatics such as information science, computer science, cognitive science, and nursing science.
Basic input/output system
Binary input/output system, basic integrated operating system, or built-in operating system; a system that resides or is embedded on a chip that recognizes and controls a computer's devices.
Computer science
Branch of engineering (application of science) that studies the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. The study of storage/memory, conversion and transformation, and transfer or transmission of information in machines - that is, computer - through both algorithms and practical implementation problems. Algorithms and detailed, unambiguous actions sequences in the design, efficiency, and application of computer systems, whereas practical implementation problems deal with the software and hardware.
Telecommunications
Broadcasting or transmitting signals over a distance from one person to another person or from one location to another location for the purpose of communication.
Executes
Carries out software's or a program's instructions.
Output
Changes that exit a system and that can activate or modify processing.
Outcome
Changes, results, and/or impacts from inputting and processing.
Microprocessor
Chip that integrates the processor onto one circuit, incorporating the functions of the computer's central processing unit or processor. They continue to evolve in terms of their processing capacity.
Alternatives
Choices between two or more options.
Platform as a service
Cloud computing service that provides everything needed to support the cloud application's building and delivering lifecycle, enabling user to develop and launch custom Web applications rapidly to the cloud.
Private cloud
Cloud space operated for a single organization with the infrastructure being managed and/or hosted internally or outsourced to a third party; it provides added control and avoids multi-tenancy.
Public cloud
Cloud space owned and operated by companies offering public access to computing resources. It is believed to be more affordable and economically sound that private clouds because the user does not need to purchase or maintain the hardware, software, or supporting infrastructure, as these are managed and owned by the cloud provider.
Software as a service
Cloud-based applications with the following benefits: the ability to quickly start using innovative or specific business apps that are scalable to your needs, any connected computer can access the apps and data, and data are not lost if your hard drive crashes because the data are stored in the cloud.
Infrastructure as a service
Cloud-based services that provide a rentable backbone to companies enabling the scalable, on-demand infrastructure they need to support their dynamic workloads; the user pays what they use and they do not have to invest in hardware, including networks, storage, and data center space.
Problem solving
Cognitive process of critically thinking through a problem or issue to determine a course of action.
Social sciences
Collection of academic/scientific fields or disciplines concerned with the study of the human aspects of our world/environment.
Clinical databases
Collections of related patient records stored in a computer system using software that permits a person or program to query the data to extract needed patient information.
Computer-based information systems
Combinations of hardware, software, and telecommunications networks that people build and use to collect, create, and distribute useful data, typically in organizational settings.
Synthesis
Combining parts of existing material or ideas into a new entity or concept.
Compact disk-rewritable
Compact disk that can be recorded onto many times.
Compact disk-recordable
Compact disk that can be used once for recording.
Monitor
Computer display that allows the user to view text and graphic images.
Personal computer
Computer made for individual use or directly used by an end user.
Open source
Computer software where the source code is made available for use and/or modification without charge. The developers share code in the hopes that the software will evolve as others modify and improve upon the bas.
Desktop
Computer's interface that resembles the top of a desk, where the user keeps things he or she wants to access quickly, such as paper clips, pens, and paper. On the computer's desktop, the user can customize the look and feel to have each access to the programs, folders, and files on the hard drive that the individual uses the most.
Electronic health records
Computer-based data warehouses or repositories of information regarding the health status of a client, which are replacing the former paper-based medical records; they are the systematic documentation of a client's health status and health care in a secure digital format, meaning they can be processed, stored, transmitted, and accessed by authorized interdisciplinary professionals for the purpose of supporting efficient, high-quality health care across the client's healthcare continuum. Also known as electronic medical records (EMRs).
Nursing theory
Concepts, propositions, and definitions that represent a methodical viewpoint and provide a framework for organizing and standardizing nursing actions.
Summaries
Condensed versions of the original designed to highlight its major points.
Networks
Connections of computers that can be local and/or organizationally based, joined together into a local area network, on a wider area scope (such as a city or district) using a metropolitan area network, or from an even greater distance (e.g., a whole country or continent or the Internet in general) using a wide area network configuration.
Word processing
Creating documents using a software package such as Microsoft Word.
Input
Data and information entered into a computer system.
Cloud storage
Data storage provided by networked online servers that are typically outside the institution whose data are being housed.
Memory
Data stored in digital format; generally refers to random-access memory (RAM).
MPED-1 Audio Layer-3
Digital or electronic audio programming format.
Digital video disk-recordable and rewritable
Disk on which a user can record many times.
Digital video disk-recordable
Disk on which a user can record once.
Compact disk read-only memory
Disk that can hold approximately 700 megabytes of data accessible by a computer.
Knowledge dissemination
Distribution and sharing of knowledge.
Report
Document that contains data or information based on a query or investigation designed to yield customized content in relation to a situation and a user, group of users, or an organization. Designed to inform, these may include recommendations or suggestions based on programming and other embedded parameters.
Conferencing software
Electronic communications system or software that supports and facilitates two or more people meeting for discussion. High-end systems offer telepresence (a lifelike experience allowing people to feel as if they were present in person - it would be as though the nurse were physically there with the patient - so people can work, learn, and play in person over the Internet or have an effect at a remote location).
IoT (Internet of Things)
Electronic devices that connect with each other to provide real-time data and interpretation of data without human intervention.
Electronic mail. To compose, send, receive, and store messages in electronic communication systems.
Arithmetic logic units
Essential building blocks of the processor of a computer that digitally perform arithmetic and logical functions.
Read-only memory
Essential permanent or semipermanent, nonvolatile memory that stores saved data and is critical in the working of the computer's operating system and other activities. It is primarily stored in the motherboard but may also be available through the graphics card, other expansion cards, and peripherals.
Mainframes
Extremely high-performance computers that are smaller than a supercomputer, used for high-volume, processor-intensive computing. Computers used by some large businesses and/or for scientific processing purposes.
Stakeholders
Individuals or groups with the responsibility for completing a project and influencing the overall design, and those who are most impacted by success or failure of the system implementation.
Clinical practice guidelines
Informal or formal rules or guiding principles that a healthcare provider uses when determining diagnostic tests and treatment strategies for individual patients. In the electronic health record, they are included in a variety of ways such as prompts, pop-ups, and text messages.
Feedback
Input in the form of opinions about or reactions to something such as shared knowledge. In an information system, this refers to information from the system that is used to make modifications in the input, processing actions, or outputs.
Cognitive science
Interdisciplinary field that studies the mind, intelligence, and behavior from an information processing perspective.
Port
Interface between a computer and other devices or other computers.
Parallel port
Interface for connecting an external device that is capable of receiving more than one bit at a time.
Wisdom
Knowledge applied in a practical way or translated into actions; the use of knowledge and experience to heighten common sense and insight so as to exercise sound judgement in practical matters. Sometimes thought of as the highest form of common sense, resulting from accumulated knowledge or erudition (deep, thorough learning) or enlightenment (education that results in understanding and the dissemination of knowledge). This is the ability to apply valuable and viable knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight while being prudent and sensible. It is focused on our own minds; it is the synthesis of our experience, insight, understanding, and knowledge. It is the appropriate use of knowledge to solve human problems. It is knowing when and how to apply knowledge.
Empiricism
Knowledge that is derived from our experiences or senses.
Interfaces
Mechanisms or systems used by separate things to interact. For example, if one wants to change a CD in a CD player, one could use a remote; the human user is not related to the CD player but can interact with it using the remote control. Therefore, the remote control becomes the interface that enables that person to tell the CD player which CD to play.
User interface
Mechanisms or systems used by users to interact with programs.
Intelligence
Mental ability to think logically, reason, prepare, ideate, assess alternative solutions to problems, problem solve by choosing a proposed solution, think abstractly, comprehend and grasp ideas, understand and use language, and learn.
Human Mental Work Load
Mental processing or cognitive demands placed on a person when he or she is interacting with technology.
Technology
Method by which people use knowledge and tolls. Knowledge used to solve problems, control and adapt to our environment, and extend human potential. Generally people use this term to refer to machines or devices such as computers and the infrastructure that supports them. For example, cell phones and planes are tangible examples - one can see and touch them - but cannot see and touch the vast infrastructures supporting them, such as the wireless communications between the device (cell phone) and the cell towers, and the electronic guidance used by the device (plane) to navigate the skies.
Foundation of Knowledge model
Model proposing that humans are organic information systems constantly acquiring, processing, generating, and disseminating information or knowledge in both their professional and personal lives. The organizing framework of this text.
QWERTY
Name given to the typical computer keyboard layout, derived from the six letters in the first row below the numeric or number row.
Processor
Newer term for central processing unit (CPU); the component that executes computer programs, thought of as the brain controlling the functioning of the computer; the computer component that actually executes, calculates, and processes the binary computer code instigated by the operating system and other applications on the computer. It serves as the command center that directs the actions of all other components of the computer and manages both incoming and outgoing data.
Digital video disk/digital versatile disk
Optical disk storage format that can generally hold or store more than six times the amount of data that a compact disk can.
Health information exchange
Organization that prepares and organizes people and resources to manage healthcare information electronically across organizations within a community or region.
Decision making
Output of cognition; outcome of our intellectual processing.
Chief technical officers
People focused on organizationally based scientific and technical issues and responsible for technological research and development as part of the organization's products and services.
Chief information officers
People involved with the information technology infrastructure of an organization. This role is sometimes called chief knowledge officer.
Information Age
Period at the end of the 20th century, when information was easily accessible using computers, networks, and the Internet.
Hard drive
Permanent data storage area that holds the data, information, documents, and programs saved on the computer, even when the computer is shut off. The actual physical body of the computer and its components.
Productivity software
Programs or software that help us compose, create, or develop. An example is the Microsoft Office suite of tools, which offers word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and Web tools to help us complete both professional and personal tasks.
Creativity software
Programs that support and facilitate innovation and creativity (an intellectual process relating to the creation or generation of new ideas, concepts, or new relationships between currently existing ideas or concepts); they allow users to focus or concentrate more on creating new things in today's digital age and less on the mechanics or workings of how they are created or developed.
Security
Protection from danger or loss. In informatics, one must protect against unauthorized access, malicious, damage, and incidental and accidental damage and enforce secure behavior and maintain security of computing, data, applications, information, and networks.
Data
Raw facts that lack meaning.
Haptic
Sense of touch; The science of applying tactile sensation or touch to human-computer interactions allowing for users to use special input/output devices such as joysticks, data gloves, etc. to feel or sense and manipulate or control a virtual, three-dimensional object's attributes of texture, shape, surface, temperature, and/or weight.
Analysis
Separating a whole into its elements or component parts; examination of a concept or phenomena, its elements, and their relations.
Keyboard
Set of keys resembling an actual typewriter that permits the user to input data into a computer.
Small Computer System Interface
Set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. Standardization among commercial products helps to ensure that devices will interface with many different systems.
Cache memory
Smaller and faster memory storage used by a computer's processor to store copies of frequently used data in main memory.
AMOLED (active matrix organic light-emitting diode)
Smartphone display with individual pixels being lit separately (active matrix); the next generation includes touch sensors. With the active matrix, you have crisp, vivid colors and darker blacks.
IPS LCD
Smartphone displays using polarized light passing through a color filter and all of the pixels are backlit. The liquid crystals control the brightness and which pixels are on or off. With the active matrix, you have crisp, vivid colors and darker blacks.
Office suite
Software that is generally distributed together with a consistent user interface that is designed for knowledge workers and clerical personnel. These software packages can interact with each other to enhance productivity and ease of use.
Graphical user interface
Software that provides a user-friendly desktop metaphor interface that is made up of the input and output devices as well as icons that represent files, programs, actions, and processes.
Applications
Software used on a smartphone or other mobile device.
Internet browser
Software used to locate and display webpages. Also known as web browser or browser.
Flash memory
Special type of EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of one byte at a time.
Embedded devices
Specialized devices that contain an operating system designed to perform a dedicated function or special purpose. Smart devices can connect to the Internet, while dumb devices cannot. Embedded devices have extensive applications in the consumer, business, and healthcare marketplaces. Examples of embedded devices are banking ATMs, appliances such as dishwashers, security systems, answering machines, vehicular navigation systems, portable music players, cable TV boxes, routers, glucometers, and portable EKG machines.
Epistemology
Study of the nature and origin of knowledge; what it means to know.
Bus
Subsystem that transfers data between a computer's internal components or between computers.
Extensibility
System design feature that allows for future expansion without the need for changes to the basic infrastructure.
Binary system
System used by computers; a numeric system that uses two symbols: 0 and 1.
Rapid Syndromic Validation Project
System where local healthcare professionals report cases such as influenza. Data are analyzed centrally, and the resulting information is shared with appropriate local authorities in an attempt to identify outbreaks early and prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
Communication software
Technology programs used to transmit messages via email, telephone, paging, broadcast (such as MP3), and Internet (such as instant messaging, Voice-over-Internet Protocol, or Listservs).
Integrated drive electronics
Technology where the drive controller is located on the drive itself instead of being a separate controller connected to the motherboard of a computer.
Spreadsheet
Text and numbers located in cells on a grid and the software necessary to process formulas and other computations such as creating graphs and charts.
Plug and play
The ability to add new devices to a computer easily without having to manually install and reconfigure the computer to accept the device.
Compatibility
The ability to work with each other or other devices or systems; for example, software that works with a computer.
Acquisition
The act of acquiring; to locate and hold. We acquire data and information.
Knowledge acquisition
The act of getting knowledge.
Knowledge processing
The activity or process of gathering or collecting, perceiving, analyzing, synthesizing, saving or storing, manipulating, conveying, and transmitting knowledge.
Throughput
The amount of work a computer can do in a given time period; a measure of computer performance that can be used by system comparison.
Knowledge
The awareness and understanding of a set of information and ways that information can be made useful to support a specific task or arrive at a decision; about with others' thoughts and information. Information that is synthesized so that relationships are identified and formalized. Understanding that comes through a process of interaction or experience with the world around us. Information that has judgement applied to it or meaning extracted from it. Processed information that helps to clarify or explain some portion of our environment or world that we can use as a basis for action or upon which we can act. Internal process of thinking or cognition. External process of testing, senses, observation, and interacting.
Mind
The brain's conscious processing; encompasses thought processes, memory, imagination and creativity, emotions, perceptions, and inner drive or will.
Brain
The central information processing unit of humans. An organ that controls the central nervous system, it is responsible for cognition and the interpretation, processing, and reaction to sensory input.
Knowledge generation
The creation of new knowledge by changing and evolving knowledge based on one's experience, education, and input from others.
Nursing science
The ethical application of knowledge acquired through education, research, and practice to provide services and interventions to patients so as to maintain, enhance, or restore their health; to advocate for health; and to acquire, process, generate, and disseminate nursing knowledge to advance the nursing profession.
Supercomputers
The fastest computers; designed to run special applications that require numerous calculations.
Artificial intelligence
The field that deals with the conception, development, and implementation of informatics tools based on intelligent technologies. This field attempts to capture the complex processes of human thought and intelligence.
Psychology
The field that studies the mind and behavior.
Information systems
The manual and/or automated components of systems of users or people, recorded data, and actions used to process the data into information for a user, group of users, or an organization.
Synchronous dynamic random-access memory
The most common type of dynamic random-access memory found in personal computers.
Operating system
The most important software on any computer. It is the very first program to load on computer start-up and is fundamental for the operation of all other software as well as the computer's hardware.
Millions of instructions per second
The number of machine instructions that a computer can execute in one second; in this case, millions per second.
Publishing
The process and production and dissemination of information.
Perception
The process of acquiring knowledge about the environment or situation by obtaining, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information from seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Sensory experience foundational to formulating knowledge.
Information science
The science of information, studying the application and usage of information and knowledge in organizations and the interfacing or interaction between people, organizations, and information systems. An extensive, interdisciplinary science that integrates features from cognitive science, library science, and social sciences.
Neuroscience
The study of the nervous system.
Virtual memory
The use of hard disk space on a temporary basis when the user is running many programs simultaneously. This temporary use frees up RAM to allow programs to run simultaneously and seamlessly.
Borrowed theory
Theories borrowed or made use of from other disciplines. As nursing began to evolve, theories from other disciplines (e.g., psychology, sociology) were adopted to try to empirically describe, explain, or predict nursing phenomena. As nursing theories continue to be developed, nurses are now questioning whether these borrowed theories were sufficient or satisfactory in their relation to the nursing phenomena they were used to describe, explain, or predict.
Knowledge workers
Those who work with information and generate information and knowledge as a product.
Quantum bits
Three-dimensional arrays of atoms in quantum states.
Document
To capture and save information for later use.
Nursing informatics
Traditional definition: A specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information science, computer science, and wisdom in nursing practice. Our definition: The synthesis of nursing science, information science, computer science, and cognitive science for the purpose of managing, disseminating, and enhancing healthcare data, information, knowledge, and wisdom to improve collaboration and decision making; provide high quality patient care; and advance the profession of nursing.
Dynamic random-access memory
Type of RAM chip requiring less space to store the same amount on a similar static RAM (SRAM) chip; however, this requires more power than SRAM because it needs to keep its charge by constantly refreshing.
Yottabytes
Unit of information or computer storage equal to 1 septillion bytes.
Zettabyte
Unit of information or computer storage equal to 1 sextillion bytes.
Gigabyte
Unit of measure used to express bytes of data storage and capability in computer systems; 1 equals 1,000 megabytes.
Gigahertz
Unit of measure used to express bytes of data storage and capability in computer systems; 1 equals 1,000 megabytes.
Megabyte
Unit of measure used to express the amount of data storage and capability in computer systems; 1 equals 1,000 kilobytes.
Megahertz
Unit of measure used to express the speed and power of some components such as the microprocessor.
Bit
Unit of measurement that holds one binary digit, 0 or 1. The smallest possible chunk of data memory used in computer processing, making up the binary system of the computer.
Byte
Unit of memory equal to eight bits or eight informational storage units, which represent one keystroke (e.g., any push of a key on a keyboard such as pressing the space bar, a lowercase "a" or an uppercase "T"). It is considered the best way to indicate computer memory or storage capacity.
Petabytes
Units of information or computer storage equal to 1 quadrillion bytes, or 1,000 terabytes.
Exabyte
Units of measure for computer memory equal to one quintillion bytes of computer memory.
Terabytes
Units of measurement for data storage capacity. One equals 1,024 gigabytes.
Information technology
Use of hardware, software, services, and supporting infrastructure to manage and deliver information using voice, data, and video, or the use of technologies from computing, electronics, and telecommunications to process and distribute information in digital and other forms. Anything related to computing technology, such as networking, hardware, software, the Internet, or the people who work with these technologies.
Quantum computing
Using a quantum computer.
Random-access memory
Volatile, temporary storage system that allows a computer's processor to access program codes and data while working on a task. RAM is lost once the system is rebooted, is shut off, or loses power.
Alert
Warning or additional information provided to clinicians to help with decision making; the action of the clinician or system triggers the generation of one. Also known as a trigger.
Cloud computing
Web browser-based login-accessible data, software, and hardware; could link systems together and reduce costs.
Microsoft Surface
Windows-based tablet computers featuring touch screens and interactive whiteboards.
