informatics research

One of the roles of informatics research is to define research questions and methods that will inform the process of making CIT more effective. One aspect of effectiveness is to improve the impact of CIT on the quality of doctor-patient relationships. Friedman’s four building blocks of informatics can be used as a framework to identify the research areas that are appropriate to specific relationship-focused CIT.
First, model formulation research, which consists of creating ontologies and standardized vocabularies, provides a framework for problem-solving. The CIT applications most directly affected by model formulation are the EOHR and personal health record.
Second, system development research focuses on the design and integration of applications and systems. Research domains include data mining, decision theory, human factors engineering, artificial intelligence, and telecommunications. System development research affects the following CIT applications: EOHR, personal health record, teledentistry, treatment planners, decision support, and practice administration.
Third, system installation research looks at the issues associated with the deployment, adoption, and implementation of CIT applications. Associated research fields include organizational and management theory, cognitive psychology, and human computer interface.
Fourth, study of effects research examines the processes and outcomes resulting from CIT applications use. The research domains used in the study of effects consist of established qualitative and quantitative methods. These methods are applied on individual-, system-, and population-based levels. This arm of research provides evidence-based data that will perpetuate the iterative design-develop-test cycle and inform best practices of the doctor-patient relationship components of CIT applications.
Overall, informatics research should provide insight that will inform the design and deployment of the next generation of CIT used in dental practice—applications that will be explicitly designed to facilitate an enduring and trusting dentist-patient relationship