EDUCATION AND HEALTH INFORMATICS

In this contribution, the role of health informatics in the medical cu rriculum is discussed. Firstly, trends in healthcare are presented tha t may have an impact on the use of IT in healthcare and consequently o n education. Then, the traditional educational system is discussed and it is argued that the educational system should be changed. The probl em-based approach is presented as an example of a new approach. The im plications for education and training in health informatics are given. Given the lack of knowledge with respect to the basics of health info rmatics of both health professionals and students, attention has to be paid to learning materials. Both IT-EDUCTRA and NIGHTINGALE are prese nted as European projects that focus on education and training. (C) 19 98 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.