eHealth Systems 101: Essential Concepts

Click Here for On Demand

Instructor: Dr. Don Cowan - Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Computer Science, University of Waterloo

Healthcare professionals are primarily managers, suppliers and interpreters of information as healthcare is predominately about the creation, management, interpretation and use of information. The information is reflected in tests, images, diagnostic and operating equipment, prescriptions and results. The interpretation of this information directs the way health care is delivered whether through people or information-driven devices such as medication carts or robots. Systems which are at the heart of all the devices that capture, store, deliver and present healthcare information are different from all other products, in that they are the product of the mind, not a factory; there is no manufacturing process, only research and design.

Systems are an integral part of healthcare delivery and as a healthcare professional you may very well be part of an eHealth team as an informed user, analyst or developer as healthcare progresses toward a comprehensive eHealth system. This session will cover the essential concepts of systems including the unique nature of software and how it is designed and built.  The session will focus on the various components of a software system, the processes that are used to develop software and how they might be applied as in agile system development.

Topics covered include capturing data, storing data, retrieving data, manipulating data, interact information, software structure, system specification, design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance, various approaches (waterfall, agile), and addressing complexity.

There will be a follow-up session called Lessons Learned.  More info and registration available soon.

Expected Outcomes
Intended Audience
Instructor