Abstract
There are three grand challenges for medical informatics policy: (1) What is it? (2)
What should it be? (3) How can we influence its development? To address these challenges
requires: (1) an historical analysis of medical informatics policies in a representative
sample of countries. This should include an account of major events, the roles of
technology, individuals, culture and social settings. Pioneers have been led by visions
of what medical informatics should achieve. The role of these visions and the reactions
to unmet expectations thus also need to be analysed; (2) a generally applicable medical
informatics policy that places the needs of its stake-holders and clients first. Top
priorities are to support quality health care delivery and quality management of health
care facilities; (3) an explanation of how policies in medical informatics are created
and implemented together with a strategy to guide medical informatics professionals
in their lobbying efforts.
Keywords
Medical Informatics - Health Informatics - Policy
