Discussion: Foundational Pioneers in Informatics The smartphone has become an increasingly valuable tool in the field of medicine. Because of the phone’s small size and powerful computing capabilities, doctors, nurses, and researchers use these smartphones in a wide range of areas. For example, smartphones can be used as an electrocardiogram, to perform ultrasound procedures, to track patient progress, and as a decision support tool for generating diagnoses (Ozdalga, Ozdalga & Ahuja, 2012). Like most innovative technologies, the smartphone and its applications are a result of many years of incremental research and development. In this Discussion, you focus on those who set the stage for the field of informatics today. By Day 1, your Instructor will assign you one of the pioneers in the field of informatics to research. To prepare: Read the articles listed in the Learning Resources for your assigned informatics pioneer. Conduct research in the Walden Library or on the Internet to find additional works by or information about the individual. Determine his or her area of interest and affiliations in the medical world. Reflect on the contributions he or she made to the field of informatics. What most interests you? What most surprises you? Consider how these contributions impact the field of informatics today. Assess why it is important to be familiar with the foundational documents of nursing informatics. By tomorrow 11/30/2016 12pm Post a minimum of 550 words essay in APA format with a minimum of 3 scholarly references (See list provided below), which addresses the level one headings below: 1) An overview of the individual to whom you were assigned, including his or her principal areas of interest and medical affiliations. 2) Highlight the contributions this individual made to the field of informatics, and explain how these contributions impact the field of informatics today. 3) Comment on the importance of being familiar with the foundational documents of nursing informatics. Required Readings Kaplan, B., Brennan, P., Dowling, A., Friedman, C., & Peel, V. (2001). Towards an informatics research agenda: Key people and organizational issues. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 8(3), 235–241. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases. This article highlights key areas in the field of health informatics in which additional research needs to be conducted. The authors cite organizational and social trends, and they suggest questions that need to be addressed in these areas. Pioneers in Informatics Harriet Werley Werley, H. H., Devine, E. C., & Zorn, C. R. (1988). Nursing needs its own minimum data set. The American Journal of Nursing, 88(12), 1651–1653. Copyright 1988 by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center. In this article, Werley, Devine, and Zorn describe their development of the nursing minimum data set (NM.

1. Discussion: Foundational Pioneers in Informatics
The smartphone has become an increasingly valuable tool in the
field of medicine. Because of the phone’s small size and
powerful computing capabilities, doctors, nurses, and
researchers use these smartphones in a wide range of areas. For
example, smartphones can be used as an electrocardiogram, to
perform ultrasound procedures, to track patient progress, and as
a decision support tool for generating diagnoses (Ozdalga,
Ozdalga & Ahuja, 2012). Like most innovative technologies, the
smartphone and its applications are a result of many years of
incremental research and development.
In this Discussion, you focus on those who set the stage for the
field of informatics today. By Day 1, your Instructor will assign
you one of the pioneers in the field of informatics to research.
To prepare:
Read the articles listed in the Learning Resources for your
assigned informatics pioneer.
Conduct research in the Walden Library or on the Internet to
find additional works by or information about the individual.
Determine his or her area of interest and affiliations in the
medical world.
Reflect on the contributions he or she made to the field of
informatics. What most interests you? What most surprises you?
Consider how these contributions impact the field of
informatics today.
Assess why it is important to be familiar with the foundational
documents of nursing informatics.
By tomorrow 11/30/2016 12pm
Post a minimum of 550 words essay in APA format with a
minimum of 3 scholarly references (See list provided below),
which addresses the level one headings below:
1)
An overview of the individual to whom you were assigned,
including his or her principal areas of interest and medical

2. affiliations.
2)
Highlight the contributions this individual made to the field of
informatics, and explain how these contributions impact the
field of informatics today.
3)
Comment on the importance of being familiar with the
foundational documents of nursing informatics.
Required Readings
Kaplan, B., Brennan, P., Dowling, A., Friedman, C., & Peel, V.
(2001). Towards an informatics research agenda: Key people
and organizational issues. Journal of the American Medical
Informatics Association, 8(3), 235–241.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article highlights key areas in the field of health
informatics in which additional research needs to be conducted.
The authors cite organizational and social trends, and they
suggest questions that need to be addressed in these areas.
Pioneers in Informatics
Harriet Werley
Werley, H. H., Devine, E. C., & Zorn, C. R. (1988). Nursing
needs its own minimum data set. The American Journal of
Nursing, 88(12), 1651–1653.

3. Copyright 1988 by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Inc.
Reprinted by permission of Lippincott Williams and Wilkins,
Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.
In this article, Werley, Devine, and Zorn describe their
development of the nursing minimum data set (NMDS). They
also discuss how the NMDS was used and why it was important.
Werley, H. H., Devine, E. C., Zorn, C. R., Ryan, P., & Westra,
B. L. (1991). The nursing minimum data set: Abstraction tool
for standardized, comparable, essential data. American Journal
of Public Health, 81(4), 421–426.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article from 1991, the authors explain their usage of the
nursing minimum data set to standardize collections of nursing
data. The authors explore the importance of standardizing
nursing data, as well as these data’s availability, reliability, and
benefits at that time.
Hobbs, J. (2011). Political dreams, practical boundaries: The
case of the Nursing Minimum Data Set, 1983–1990. Nursing
History Review: Official Journal of the American Association
for The History of Nursing, 19, 127–155.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explores the development of the Nursing Minimum
Data set (NMDS). The article details the contentious process
that Harriet Werley utilized to identify information used in the
NMDS.
Werley, H. (1972). Research in nursing as input to educational
programs. Journal of Nursing Education, 11(4), 29-38.

4. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, Harriet Werley describes the relationship
between nursing research and nursing education programs.
Werley cites numerous studies that emphasize the need for
additional nursing research and its integration into practice and
curricula.
Robert Ledley and Lee B. Lusted
Ledley, R. S., & Lusted, L. B. (1959). Reasoning foundations of
medical diagnosis. Science, New Series, 130(3366), 9–21.
Copyright 1959 by American Association for the Advancement
of Science. Reprinted by permission of American Association
for the Advancement of Science via the Copyright Clearance
Center.
This seminal article explores the research, observation, and risk
involved in diagnosing a patient in 1959. The authors discuss
the reasoning foundations behind how physicians made a
medical diagnosis in their era.
Ledley, R. S. (1964). High-speed automatic analysis of
biomedical pictures. Science, New Series, 146(3641), 216–223.
Copyright 1964 by American Association for the Advancement
of Science. Reprinted by permission of American Association
for the Advancement of Science via the Copyright Clearance
Center.
The authors of this article describe contemporary technologies
in the nursing field of 1964. In particular, they focus on the
high-speed automatic analysis of biomedical pictures.

5. Ledley, R. (2004). Editorial for computerized medical imaging
and graphics. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics,
28(1–2), 1.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explains how advances in medical imaging
technology have drastically changed patient care. The author
also defines and explains different types of medical imaging and
graphics.
Ledley, R. S., & Lusted, L. B. (1960). The use of electronic
computers in medical data processing: Aids in diagnosis,
current information retrieval, and medical record keeping. IRE
Transaction on Medical Electronics, ME-7(1), 31–47.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the authors discuss the use of computers in
medical data processing in 1960. The article explains how
computers changed the abilities of physicians to make educated
diagnoses and keep medical records.
Ledley, R. S. (1987). Medical informatics: A personal view of
sowing the seeds. Proceedings of ACM Conference on History
of Medical Informatics, 1987, 31–41.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This 1987 article describes a personal view of medical
informatics. The author relays personal experiences with early
medical informatics systems.
MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-

6. Programming System) in Octo Barnett's Laboratory of Computer
Science, Neil Pappalardo, Curtis Marble, and Robert Greenes
Ashenhurst, R. L., McIlroy, M. D., Gawlick, H. J., Daley, L. R.,
Fournier, A., Cohen, D., & ... Rule, J. B. (1990). ACM Forum.
Communications of the ACM, 33(5), 479–482.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article includes numerous letters to the editor of
Association of Computing Machinery's (ACM) journal. The
letters discuss numerous issues that were prevalent in
computing and informatics at the time of publication.
Barnett, G. O. (1987). History of the development of medical
information systems at the Laboratory of Computer Science at
Massachusetts General Hospital. Proceedings of ACM
Conference on History of Medical Informatics, 1987, 43–49.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the author explores the history of the
development of medical information systems at the laboratory
of computer science at the Massachusetts General Hospital. The
author describes the importance of different medical
information systems and how they were utilized at this
particular hospital.
Dezelic, G. (2007). A short review of medical informatics
history. Acta Informatica Medica, 15(1), 43–48.

7. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article provides a summary of the history of medical
informatics. The author describes key medical informatics
pioneers and systems.
Lincoln, T. L. (1987). An historical perspective on clinical
laboratory information systems. Proceedings of ACM
Conference on History of Medical Informatics, 1987, 117–121.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The author of this article discusses some of the medical
information systems in use in 1987.This article provides a
historical perspective on clinical laboratory information systems
and how they have evolved over time.
Waxman, B. D. (1987). Planting the seeds. Proceedings of ACM
Conference on History of Medical Informatics, 1987, 27–29.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article describes the history of informatics prior to 1987.
The author discusses the information gathered at the
proceedings of the ACM conference and who “planted the
seeds” of medical information systems.
Morris Collen
Collen, M. F. (1966). Periodic health examinations using an
automated multitest laboratory. JAMA: Journal of the American
Medical Association, 195(10), 830–833.
Copyright 1966 by American Medical Association.

8. Reprinted by permission of American Medical Association via
the Copyright Clearance Center.
This article explains how automated multitest laboratories
changed the way basic health examinations are performed. The
article gives a brief history of health examinations, the
importance of automated multitest laboratories, and the
equipment used.
Collen, M. F., Rubin, L., Neyman, J., Dantzig, G. B., Baer, R.
M., & Siegelaub, A. B. (1964). Automated multiphasic
screening and diagnosis. American Journal of Public Health and
the Nations Health, 54(5), 741–750.
Copyright 1964 by American Public Health Association.
Reprinted by permission of American Public Health Association
via the Copyright Clearance Center.
The authors of this article provide a brief description of the
current state of quantitative testing in their era. In particular,
they explore the use of multiphasic screening and diagnosis at
that time, and its contribution to the medical field.
Oakes, T., Syme, S., Feldman, R., Friedman, G., Siegelaub, A.,
& Collen, M. (1973). Social factors in newly discovered
elevated blood pressure. Journal of Health And Social Behavior,
14(3), 198–204.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explores a study that sought to determine the social

9. factors associated with newly discovered high blood pressure.
The study demonstrates how automated multiphasic health
testing can effectively gather information.
Homer R. Warner
Clayton, P. D. (1995). Presentation of the Morris F. Collen
Award to Homer R. Warner, MD, PhD: “Why not? Let's do it!”
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2(2),
137–142.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article outlines the story of Homer Warner and his
contribution to the field of medical information systems. The
author describes how Dr. Warner used mathematical techniques
to make technological advancements in the field of cardiology.
Warner, H. R. (1995). Viewpoint: Medical informatics: A real
discipline? Journal of the American Medical Informatics
Association, 2(4), 207–214.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, Dr. Warner, a pioneer of medical informatics,
states his views on medical informatics and how they are a
necessary discipline in the medical field. Warner also discusses
the history, importance, and usage of medical informatics.
Warner, H. R. (1959). The use of an analog computer for
analysis of control mechanisms in the circulation. Proceedings
of the IRE, 47(11), 1913–1916.

10. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this 1959 article, Dr. Warner discusses the use of an analog
computer for analyzing the control mechanisms in the
circulation system. Dr. Warner uses examples as well as history
to show how an analog computer has contributed to the field of
cardiology in his practice.
Warner, H. R. (2001). Good isn't enough. Health Management
Technology, 22(6), 30–31.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, Homer Warner examines natural language
processing (NLP) technology. Warner identifies numerous areas
where NLP may be applied, and he also provides predictions for
its development.
Warner, H. R. (1966). The role of computers in medical
research. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association,
196(11), 944–949.
Copyright 1966 by American Medical Association. Reprinted by
permission of American Medical Association via the Copyright
Clearance Center.
This 1966 article explores the potential uses of computers in
medical research. The author describes how computers had
changed the field of medical research at the time of the article’s

11. publication.
Edward Shortliffe
Hickam, D. H., Shortliffe, E. H., Bischoff, M. B., Scott, A. C.,
& Jacobs, C. D. (1985). The treatment advice of a computer-
based cancer chemotherapy protocol advisor. Annals of Internal
Medicine, Part 1, 103(6), 928–936.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The authors of this article describe their use for ONCOCIN as a
computer-based cancer chemotherapy protocol advisor. The
article specifies how ONCOCIN combined formal guidelines
with judgments of oncologists to determine the best route of
therapy for certain cases.
Shortliffe, E. H., Tang, P. C., & Deimer, D. E. (1991). Patient
records and computers. Annals of Internal Medicine,115(12),
979–981.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explores improvements in clinical information-
management systems using the computer technology of the early
1990s. The authors stress their concerns surrounding the use of
technology to solve the problems of paper records.
Shortliffe, E. H. (1998). Health care and the next generation
Internet. Annals of Internal Medicine,129(2), 138–140.

12. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the author anticipates the future of health care
from a 1998 perspective. The article focuses on the potential
impacts of the next version of the Internet in health care.
Shortliffe, E. H. (2005). Strategic action in health information
technology: Why the obvious has taken so long. Health Affairs,
24(5), 1222–1233.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article describes the gradual advance toward
implementations of health information technology. The author
examines the challenges and the opportunities that the field of
health information technology faced prior to the article’s
publication.
Tu, S. W., Kahn, M. G., Musen, M. A., Ferguson, J., Shortliffe,
E., & Fagan, L. M. (1989). Episodic skeletal-plan refinement
based on temporal data. Communications of the ACM, 32(12),
1439–1455.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article describes a medical expert system (ONCOCIN) used
in the late 1980s to create skeletal-planning techniques. The
authors explain how this system proved to be innovative and
beneficial to the health care field at that time.

13. Dr. Warner Slack
Hicks, G. P., Gieschen, M. M., Slack, W. V., & Larson, F. C.
(1966). Routine use of a small digital computer in the clinical
laboratory. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical
Association, 196(11), 973–978.
Copyright 1966 by American Medical Association. Reprinted by
permission of American Medical Association via the Copyright
Clearance Center.
The authors of this article describe the use of a small digital
computer in an early clinical computer laboratory. The authors
examine the benefits and drawbacks of using those digital
computers in a clinical laboratory.
Slack, W. V., & Van Cura, L. J. (1968). Patient reaction to
computer-based medical interviewing. Computers and
Biomedical Research, 1(5), 527–531.
Copyright 1968 by Elsevier Science and Technology. Reprinted
by permission of Elsevier Science and Technology via the
Copyright Clearance Center.
In this article, the authors discuss patients’ reactions to
computer-based medical interviewing. They also theorize how
patients may have thought and felt about computer-based
medical technology.
Fisher, L. A., Johnson, T., Porter, D., Bleich, H. L., & Slack,
W. V. (1977). Collection of a clean voided urine specimen: A

14. comparison among spoken, written, and computer-based
Instructions.American Journal of Public Health, 67(7), 640.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The authors of this article describe a study that sought to
determine the effectiveness of different methods of instructing
patients on how to collect a urine specimen. The article has a
significant focus on the effects of computer-based instructions.
Safran, C. (2002). Presentation of Morris F. Collen Award to
Professors Howard Bleich and Warner Slack. Journal of the
American Medical Informatics Association, 9(4), 406–408.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article describes the conferral of the Morris F. Collen
award to Howard Bleich and Warner Slack. The article also
provides an overview of the doctors’ accomplishments in the
medical field.
Safran, C., & Rind, D. M. (1995). Guidelines for management
of HIV infection with computer-based patient's record. Lancet,
346(8971), 341.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article describes a trial of an electronic medical record
(EMR) system that provides electronic messages to help
reinforce adherence to clinical practice guidelines. The article
presents findings on the effects of the EMR's alert messages.
Ed Hammond

15. Hammond, W. E. (2008). eHealth interoperability. Studies in
Health Technology and Informatics,134, 245–253.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article explores the concept of interoperability between
health information technology systems. The author outlines
different types of interoperability and describes their
importance.
Hammond, W. E., Stead, W. W., Feagin, S. J., Brantley, B. A.,
& Straube, M. J. (1977). Data base management system for
ambulatory care. In Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on
Computer Application in Medical Care, (p. 173). American
Medical Informatics Association. Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2464520/pdf/pro
cascamc00015-0181
.
This article describes a database management system (DBMS)
used for ambulatory care. The authors explain the benefits and
uses of DBMSs for this type of care.
Hammond, W. E., II, Stead, W. W., Straube, M. J., &
Hammond, W. E., III. (1983). Adapting to the day to day growth
of TMR. In Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer
Application in Medical Care (p. 101). American Medical
Informatics Association.
Copyright 1983 by IEEE.
Reprinted by permission of IEEE via the Copyright Clearance

16. Center.
This article describes computer applications in medical care and
computer systems in hospitals. The authors also explore the
connection between medical records and quality assurance.
Stead, W. W., & Hammond, W. E. (1987). Demand-oriented
medical records: Toward a physician work station. In
Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer Application
in Medical Care (p. 275). American Medical Informatics
Association.
Copyright 1987 by Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers.
Reprinted by permission of Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers via the Copyright Clearance Center.
This article provides a brief overview of the use of computer-
based medical records at the time of publication. The authors
also focus on using demand-oriented medical records at a
physician workstation.
Stead, W. W., & Hammond, W. E. (1980). How to realize labor
savings with a computerized medical record. In Proceedings of
the Annual Symposium on Computer Application in Medical
Care, 2 (p. 1200). American Medical Informatics Association.
In this article, the authors discuss concerns about computerized
medical record systems increasing the cost of labor. The authors
also examine how medical record systems may actually reduce
labor costs.
Clem McDonald

17. McDonald, C. J., & Tierney, W. M. (1986). The Medical
Gopher—A microcomputer system to help find, organize and
decide about patient data. Western Journal of Medicine, 145(6),
823–829.
Copyright 1986 by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. Reprinted by
permission of BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. via the Copyright
Clearance Center.
The authors of this article describe the purpose and uses of the
Medical Gopher. The Media Gopher is a computer system that
helps find, organize, and provide decision support based on
stored patient data.
McDonald, C. J., Hui, S. L., Smith, D. M., Tierney, W. M.,
Cohen, S. J., Weinberger, M., & McCabe, G. P. (1984).
Reminders to physicians from an introspective computer
medical record. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 100(1), 130.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article details the effects of a computerized medical record
that provides reminder messages to physicians. The authors
provide recommendations for similar systems in the future.
McDonald, C. J., & Hammond, W. E. (1989). Standard formats
for electronic transfer of clinical data. Annals of Internal
Medicine, 110(5), 333–335.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The authors of this article stress the need for standardizing the

18. way clinical systems transmit data, and they describe some
early attempts to create clinical data transmission standards.
McDonald, C. J., Murray, R., Jeris, D., Bhargava, B., Seeger, J.,
& Blevins, L. (1977). A computer-based record and clinical
monitoring system for ambulatory care. American Journal of
Public Health, 67(3), 240–245.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article provides an overview of the Regenstrief Medical
Record system, which was first implemented in 1973. The
authors explain how the record system presents a pioneering
approach to storing medical records electronically.
Wilson, G. A., McDonald, C. J., & McCabe, G. P., Jr. (1982).
The effect of immediate access to a computerized medical
record on physician test ordering: A controlled clinical trial in
the emergency room. American Journal of Public Health, 72(7),
698–702.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the authors describe the results of a controlled
clinical trial that tested how the availability of patient
computerized medical record summaries affected the rates at
which physicians ordered additional testing. No significant
decrease or increase in the number of tests ordered was found to
have occurred.
Optional Websites

19. HIMSS. (2013). Retrieved February 21, 2013, from
http://www.himss.org
ANIA. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2013, from
https://www.ania.org