McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics

Veterinary Informatics

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Wednesday, March 18th, 2015
written by Kimberly Smith

• What is veterinary informatics and why is it important? --Kimberly A. Smith, PhD, MT(ASCP)
  
  “Between animal and human medicine there is no dividing line—nor should there be. The object is different but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine.” Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902). [1]
  
  Animals – they provide companionship, food, and labor. We share our homes – sometimes even our beds - with them. And we even have many of the same diseases in common. Animals develop diabetes, myasthenia gravis [2], obesity, thyroid disease, kidney failure, and many types of cancers, such as lymphoma and osteosarcoma.

SBMI Growth in South Texas

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Wednesday, March 11th, 2015
written by Jeanette Broshears

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  In the short period of time since the School of Biomedical Informatics was established in South Texas, we have witnessed exponential growth semester after semester. The program started in the fall of 2013 with just three students and currently, there are more than 30 students in South Texas that are a part of SBMI programs.
  
  We believe the growth is a reflection of the students of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) truly understanding the importance of health informatics to the implementation and application of healthcare in a digitalized age. The RGV is one of the most medically underserved communities in the United States and SBMI’s ability to teach and train new health informatics (HI) specialists will be vital to updating the quality of healthcare in the region.

Finding Value in a SBMI Degree

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Wednesday, March 4th, 2015
written by Chelsea Overstreet

• Committing to a graduate program is an important decision and one that should not be taken lightly. So when the time comes to begin researching graduate degree programs, there are several types of prospective students one might see.
  
  Quality Seeker
  This person is vigorously passionate about her or his field and wants to find a graduate program that has a prestigious reputation and world-renowned faculty members. Quality seekers look for programs that offer access to the best facilities and are drawn to well-rounded but high quality institutions.

How Do We Love Thee, Houston? Let Us Count the Ways

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Wednesday, February 25th, 2015

• SBMI could not be better positioned for the benefit of its students and faculty. Houston, Texas is an ideal place to learn and work, all the while enjoying a high quality of life. Here in the Energy Capital on the Gulf Coast, we have a city rich with collaborative opportunities. We have a city that thrives on innovation and strives for greatness.
  
  Our population is made up of people with a wide array of experiences and backgrounds, and the benefits from such diversity are innumerable. We have a thriving economy, a fantastic food and culture scene, a bold history and an even brighter future.

Use of Virtual Educational Spaces at SBMI

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Wednesday, February 18th, 2015
written by Emin Saglamer

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  What are Virtual Educational Spaces?
  Virtual Educational Spaces (VES) in its strictest definition stands for virtual 3D environments where a physical space is simulated on a device such as a computer and is accessed by users through the use of graphic UI, mouse, keyboard and/or other controller. VES can be used for simulations, conferences, class presentations, poster sessions, counseling, and self-guided exploration.

Why Disability Informatics?

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Wednesday, February 11th, 2015
written by Lex Frieden

• The implications of health informatics for people with disabilities are significant.
  
  The subset of people with disabilities constitutes one of the largest cohorts of health care users in the population. In order to apply our knowledge of informatics most effectively, we need to fully understand the user and subject populations of our research, training and products. We need to be knowledgeable about the demographics of the population of people with disabilities, and we need to be cognizant of the subtle differences between subsets of this population.
  
  To give you some idea as to why informatics is important to people with disabilities and why a focus on disability is vitally important for informaticians, let's look at the demographics.

Business Dining Etiquette

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Wednesday, February 4th, 2015
written by Chelsea Overstreet

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  Here is a quick business dining quiz: While having a business lunch, should you place your beverage on the left side or right side of your entrée plate?
  
  If you answered right side, you are correct. All beverages, including coffee, water or tea belong on the right side of your plate. If you answered left side, then keep reading as we have several important tips for business dining etiquette for you.

5 Trends in Academic Health IT to Watch for in 2015

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Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

• We’re one month into 2015, and health information technology (health IT or HIT) is getting bigger than ever. This trend shows no sign of stopping, considering improvements in technology, continuing adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and the widening availability of health data.
  
  With the rapid advances in the field comes a large demand for skilled health IT professionals, as well as academic programs like those offered by UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics that are up on the latest trends. Here are five ways SBMI is looking to the future of health IT.

Calling All Innovators in Health Informatics!

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Wednesday, January 21st, 2015
written by James Langabeer, II, PhD, MBA, FHIMSS

• Healthcare, as an industry, has a long way to go to achieve the cost-efficiency and quality that we all strive for.
  
  As consumers/patients, we see constant duplication of effort – we get the same questions from multiple providers, we fill out the same forms repeatedly, and we find little sharing of information between providers. As providers and administrators, we are equally frustrated with the lack of clear, actionable data that can help us improve operations. We know we need better solutions.

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