Integration and beyond: linking information from disparate sources and into workflow.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Informatics
• Health Informatics
• Information Science

Background:

• The integration of diverse information sources is a fundamental goal in biomedical informatics.
• Technological advancements and informatics discoveries have shaped the evolution of information integration strategies.
• Previous integration approaches continue to be relevant alongside newer methodologies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and categorize distinct generations of information integration projects in biomedical informatics.
• To analyze the evolution of integration concepts based on technological and scientific progress.
• To identify the enduring principles across different integration project generations.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of information integration projects in biomedical informatics.
• Categorization of projects into three distinct generations based on their approach.
• Analysis of the progression and relationship between different integration strategies.

Main Results:

• Identification of three generations of information integration projects: single-purpose databases, enterprise information architecture, and inter-related disparate sources.
• Demonstration that earlier integration concepts are not obsolete but form a continuum with newer approaches.
• Key dimensions of progress identified as workflow, structure, and extraction.

Conclusions:

• Information integration in biomedical informatics has progressed through distinct, yet interconnected, generational approaches.
• The principles of workflow, structure, and extraction provide a framework for understanding this continuum.
• Future integration efforts can build upon the foundational ideas from all three generations.