Health or uni-disciplinary informatics initiatives--why are we where we are today?

This paper looks at the development of health informatics from a segregated uni-disciplinary beginning to an environment in which multi-disciplinary health informatics and uni-disciplinary work co-exist reasonably harmoniously. However, the paper considers some of the catalysts and inhibitors which have made the transition not as smooth or wide ranging as the technological developments could have supported. Organisational and cultural factors appear to have played a part in the migration as it has emerged. Identification and understanding of the key issues may help in progressing health informatics towards a mature state.