This brilliant guide to medical informatics is an easy to read overview of the basic concepts of information and communication technologies in healthcare. Not only does the book cover the complexities and implications of the increasing use of information technology in healthcare, but it also explores the basic principles of informatics that govern clinical decisions and behaviour.The 2nd edition of A Guide to Health Informatics is particularly of interest for clinical health professionals and medical/health science students. As before, the emphasis throughout the book is clinically relevant. New to this restructured and updated edition is a section on searching for, structuring and using information, new material on evidence-based medicine and discussion of the internet and patient use. Key areas such as the Internet, the Web and healthcare have been updated to reflect current issues. Features: *Completely updated and restructured to reflect current issues and new developments *New sections on information retrieval, structuring and medical decision making *New material on protocols and evidence based medicine