Developing health informatics as a recognised professional domain supporting clinical and health management activity

This paper puts forward a case for use of the term "health informatics" to be deployed as a catalyst to collective recognition of the contribution that technology, information handling and decision support can provide to effective health care internationally. It cautions against disregarding the impact that the collective 'health informatics' may have on cohesion and recognition across the specialist clinical areas, management sectors and diverse professions involved in specialist areas. It also recognises that commonality of standards and consistency of protocols can be identified in many of the technical and clinical specialist areas, confirming the basis for a collective term. Having looked at potentially generic factors in the development of both a learned society and professional regulation body in the UK, the paper concludes that without recognition of the collective term "health informatics" there will be an grossy extended time frame before any of those working in this area gain the recognition and respect of a formal discipline.