Medical Computing OpenCourseWare: Free Graduate Level Medical Information Systems Course by MIT

Published Feb 02, 2009

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'Medical Computing' is a free graduate-level OpenCourseWare offered by MIT that provides students with an understanding of how computational science and computer technologies can be used to improve the efficiency of medical science. Students interested in medical science, medical systems and healthcare administration will benefit from this course in how to best implement computer science tools in a professional healthcare environment.

Medical Computing: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Graduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
Yes Yes No

Medical Computing: Course Description

This OpenCourseWare is a survey course in the use of the computer technology and computational science tools used in clinical medical practice and medical science in general. The course focuses on medical science in the age of automation, both past and present. A review is provided of past and present systems and approaches used to support the needs of clinicians and researchers. The technology that is employed to support these systems is also examined. Several studies of real-world applications of medical computational systems are reviewed, including the challenges of bioterror threats and patient identification. Professional ethics, including the need for patient confidentiality in the digital age are also emphasized. The course is heavy on technical topics and a background in information technology and computer science will be beneficial. MIT Professors Lucila Ohno-Machado, Isaac Kohane and Peter Szolovits teach this lecture-based course and recommend the text Medical Informatics: Computer Applications in Health Care and Biomedicine, by E.H. Shortliffe.

Extensive lecture notes and homework assignments are available for download. In addition, links to resources for structured query languages and relational algebra are also provided. If you're interested in taking this free course, visit the medical computing information course page.

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