DIRECTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN HEALTH INFORMATICS IN BRITISH-COLUMBIA

The social changes, and changes in perceptions of the effectiveness of health care in British Columbia have resulted in a large number of re commendations in the report of the British Columbia Royal Commission o n Health Care and Costs. Many of these recommendations have implicatio ns for health informatics. The British Columbia Government, in outlini ng a response, foresees a major change in the emphases of health care, which will involve four major areas of health informatics: network ev olution, automation of the patient record, outcome- and other quality- related databases, and consumer health education. These themes are dis cussed, in the light of the opinions of academics, health care provide rs, and the health-informatics industry. The themes must be intercalat ed into the health informatics curriculum, to equip graduates for the challenges of B.C.'s changing health care system.