JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

The vast and heterogeneous data being constantly generated in the clinics can provide great wealth for patients and research alike. The quickly evolving field of Medical Informatics research contributed numerous concepts, algorithms, and standards to facilitate this development. However, these difficult relations, complex terminologies, and multiple implementations can bear an obstacle to people who want to get active in the field. With a particular focus on Medical Informatics research conducted in Germany, we present a set of ten important topics to lower the entry barriers and offer a starting point for researchers and clinicians to get engaged at different levels. The suggested topics are briefly introduced, then general best-practice guidance is given and further resources for in-depth reading or hands-on tutorials are recommended. In addition, the topics are set to cover current aspects and open research gaps of the Medical Informatics domain, including data regulations & concepts, data harmonization & processing, and data evaluation, visualization & dissemination. By recognizing these topics, readers will be able to i) Set clinical and research data into the context of Medical Informatics, understanding what is possible to achieve with data, or how data should be handled in terms of data privacy and storage, ii) Distinguish current interoperability standards and obtain first insights into the processes leading to effective data transfer and analysis, and iii) Value the use of newly developed technical approaches to utilize the full potential of clinical data.