The purpose of this elective is to give the fourth-year medical student more detailed exposure to key topics in clinical informatics and to introduce them to the clinical informatics sub-specialty. It is designed for fourth year medical students who are interested in exploring important and emerging concepts in Clinical Informatics, as well as describing opportunities for careers in Clinical Informatics.

The course will consist of a guided review of the literature of both current and important historical articles related to the three key topics listed below.
At the completion of this elective, the student should be able to:
Describe the career pathways for physicians interested in clinical informatics, including training pathways and board certification.
Define and describe several key issues/challenges related to the use of electronic health records in the clinical setting, specifically:
1. The advantages and challenges of using computerized clinical decision support
2. The HIPAA privacy and security rules governing the use of personally identifiable patient information for patient treatment, research, and quality improvement.
3. The relationship between the use of EHR's and other health information technologies with physician burnout and other physician workforce issues.
Refine their presentation and critical appraisal skills by reviewing and presenting on assigned articles from the three topic areas