Summary
Objective: To review and update the Preface to the 1998 Yearbook of Medical Informatics, which
had as its Special Topic “Health Informatics and the Internet”.
Method: Assessment of the accuracy of predictions made in 1998 and consideration of key developments
in informatics since that time.
Results: Predictions made in 1998 were generally accurate regarding reduced dependence on
keyboards, expansion of multimedia, medical data privacy policy development, impact
of molecular biology on knowledge and treatment of neoplasms, and use of imaging and
informatics to advance understanding of brain structure and function. Key developments
since 1998 include the huge increase in publicly available electronic information;
acknowledgement by leaders in government and science of the importance of biomedical
informatics to societal goals for health, health care, and scientific discovery; the
influence of the public in promoting clinical research transparency and free access
to government-funded research results; the long-awaited arrival of electronic health
records; and the “Cloud” as a 21st century reformulation of contracting out the computer
center. Conclusions: There are many challenging and important problems that deserve
the attention of the informatics community. Informatics researchers will be best served
by embracing a very broad definition of medical informatics and by promoting public
understanding of the field.
Keywords
Access to information - consumer health information - informatics - electronic health
records - brain mapping - neoplasm gene
