For more information on many of these terms see http://www.pcwebopedia.com/

Glossary

ABC Codes - Alternative Billing Codes. Used for billing alternative medical procedures.

AACN - American Association of Colleges of Nursing

Active Cell - the cell in a spreadsheet into which any information that is entered will be placed.

Active Server Page (ASP) - an add on for Web pages that allows for the creation of interactive pages that can show data in real time.

Active X - set of programming technologies and tools for the Web created by Microsoft® used to create a self-sufficient program that can be run in Windows and Macintosh operating systems, but only with Internet Explorer.

Active Window - the window on the screen on which the user is working.

Accessibility - used in connection with World Wide Web pages to denote the ability of people with disabilities to use a page. The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. Section 508 of that Act requires that when federal agencies develop or procure electronic and information technology that this technology be as accessible to Federal employees with disabilities as to those without disabilities {, #1389}.

Address - (on Disks) Disks are divided into tracks and sectors, each with a unique address that designates the specific track and sector of the disk where something is stored.

Address - (in RAM) A specific memory location in the computer’s RAM accessible by a unique number. Think of a computer’s memory as a group of mailboxes, each of which has a specific number or address.

ADL - Activities of Daily Living

Admission, Discharge and Transfer (ADT) - a computer system that manages data about the admission, discharge and transfer of patients within a healthcare institution.

Adware - software that is combined with another program and presents advertisements to the user of the program. Is sometimes distributed with free versions of downloadable software.

Aggregated data - data that represents the same piece of data for many different records e.g. a list of surgeries and length of stay for all patients for the month of April. The purpose for studying data in the aggregate is to determine patterns. The data may be from any size database from just a few records to millions of records.

AHCPR - Agency for Health Care Policy and Research

AHIMA - American Health Information Management Association

AIDSLINE - NLM online bibliographic database for comprehensive coverage of information related to AIDS.

Algorithm - a set of unambiguous steps for accomplishing a defined task. The algorithm has a definite starting and stopping point. It may contain decision points, but finite choices are given and the results of each choice clearly stated. Used when programming a computer, however, individuals use them every day, e.g. the steps one follows in starting a car.

Alphanumeric - a description given to any letter or number. Directions may tell you to enter any “alphanumeric” character or a combination of alphanumerics. This would be interpreted to mean that any letter or number will be accepted by the computer.

Alt+ - The alt key is a key on a computer keyboard. When you see an instruction written Alt+D or any other key including the shift key, hold down the alt key while depressing the other keys.

ALU - see Arithmetic Logic Unit

ALT tag - This is a code added to a graphic display that provides an alternative to the graphic. For example, a brief description of the graphic, providing a to a detailed description of the graphic. (Chapter 15)

AMIA - American Medical Information Association

ANA - American Nurses Association

Analog - A system in which the measurements are continuous. Digital systems show only given values, they skip intermediate values. An ordinary clock, which shows every conceivable time is an analog system, while a digital watch shows only definite times without any intermediate values.

Andragogy - an educational theory whose current proponent is Malcom Knowles. This theory holds that adults are need to know why they need to learn something, are capable of self-direction, bring experiences with them that can provide a resource for learning, and learn to solve problems.

ANI - Alliance for Nursing Informatics

Application program - a computer program designed for an end user such as a word processor or database. Distinguished from systems software which interacts with the computer.

Archived - messages are archived when they are placed on a server where they can be accessed by others. This is often done with mailing group messages.

Argument - The values that a formula uses, they may be entered by the user, or be functions provided by the software. Examples may be written “= Argument + Argument” In this example for summing the user should substitute the numbers that he or she wishes to sum for the word argument.

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) - the part of the CPU (central processing unit) that performs all arithmetic computations and comparisons. Essentially the brains of the computer.

Artificial intelligence - a computer application that has been designed to mimic the actions of an intelligent human in a given situation and be capable of substituting for a human. Robots are an example of artificial intelligence.

ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A system arrived at early in the evolution of computers that provides for the identical representation of each character on the keyboard by a set decimal number. ASCII text is readable by most application programs whereas files saved by application programs are put into a proprietary format and are only readable by the program (or series such as Corel, or Smart Suite) that created them. ASCII files preserve only text, all formatting is lost. Every line of text is treated as though it were a paragraph. (See RTF). ASCII files have a file extension of “txt.” Creating a file in this format is an excellent way to transfer data from a spreadsheet or database to another application.

Assembly language - a second level computer programming language that enables a programmer to use words instead of numbers to tell a computer how to act.

Asynchronous learning - a form of independent learning in which learners instead of attending a class at a given time, perform their learning activities such as responding to discussions, at times that are convenient to them.

Asynchronous communication - communication in which the reply is not made immediately after the message is sent, but when the recipient is available. Email is asynchronous communication.

Atomic level data - a small piece of precise data that represents a discrete element that has not been interpreted. For example, the number 2. It can represent many different things, but alone it is atomic level data. In a blood pressure reading, there are two pieces of atomic level data, the systolic and the diastolic. Name is NOT atomic level data, it is composed of at least two pieces, first and last name and sometimes a middle name or initial. Entering atomic level data into a database in a specific field gives a first level of interpretation to it. For example, if the atomic level data 70 is entered into a field whose name is diastolic blood pressure, it has meaning at a very low level.

Attribute - a characteristic that can be applied to any selected object. These include features such as bold facing text, the margins for a paragraph, size, and color. In designing e-Learning it denotes factors, such as color or movement, that a medium implements. In either context, the type of communications desired and characteristics of that topic determine which attributes will best create understanding. In a database, it refers to a field.

Audit trail - a record made by a system of all the places that an individual accesses within a system. For example, if Nancy accesses the medical record of Patient Morris, there will be a record of this. Looking at the audit trail enables the system administrator to determine whether Nancy breached security with this action.

AVLINE - NLM database for audiovisual programs.

Axis - in standardized classifications a concept around which a taxonomy is organized.

Backward compatibility - a program is backwardly compatible when it can use files created by an earlier version of the program, e.g. when your word processor version 9.0 will let you read and edit files created by version 7.0 of the same program. Software producers generally try to keep their products backwardly compatible, so files created with older version will not be lost when a user update. May also be called downward compatibility. See forwardly compatible.

Bandwidth - a measure of the speed at which a line (wire) transmits data. The rates depend on the type of connection. See table 4-1.

Bar code - a method of encoding data to be machine readable. It consists of a parallel arrangement of bars (dark lines) and spaces (light elements). They represent numerical codes which conform to the Universal Product Code (UPC).

Basic - a third level programming language designed for teaching students to program a computer. Versions of it are seen in macro languages and languages used with statistical packages. Today most of the versions contain extensions, such as object-oriented features seen in Microsoft’s Visual Basic.

Batch processing - the type of computer processing in which computer tasks are stored during working hours and then executed when the computer is idle. It is very useful for tasks that require the computer for an extended period. Once a batch job begins there is no interaction with a user. It continues until it is finished, or there is an error. Credit card companies use batch processing to process monthly bills.

Bay - a site in a computer where disk drives (3 ½, CD-ROMS etc.) can be installed.

Bcc - Blind Carbon Copy. Used to send a message that is addressed to one person to another without the original recipient knowing that another also received the message.

BCS - British Computer Society

BDMS - Bureau of Data Management and Strategy

Benign virus - a computer virus that is not intended to do damage to your computer, it just makes itself known when given conditions are met, such as a specified date, by displaying some sort of message, or creating a noise. They can, however, create damage.

Binary system - the system of 1's and 0's used to represent data in the computer. If you studied number systems with bases other than ten (our familiar decimal system), you would refer to the binary system as a “base two” number system and our decimal system as a base ten number system.

Binary digit - the smallest unit of information on a computer. Usually referred to as a “bit.” See bit.

BIOETHICSLINE - NLM database on health-related ethical topics, produced by the Bioethics Information Retrieval Project of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University.

Biometric identification - the use of physiological characteristics such as fingerprints or voice print for identification. A biometric device is one that is capable of making an identification based on a specific human train that is unique to the individual.

BIOS - Pronounced "bye-os," it is an acronym for basic input/output system. The BIOS is built-in software generally found on the ROM chip built into the computer. It determines what a computer can do without accessing programs from a disk.

Biosurveillance - the automated monitoring of health data sources to identify trends that may indicate a disease outbreak, either natural such as with flu, or intentional from terrorism

Bit - This term is short for “binary digit,” which is the unit of information that a computer processes. It is represented by a one (1) if the circuit is on and a zero (0) if it is off. A single bit will have a value of either 0 or 1. To gain meaningful information, consecutive bits are combined into larger units, for example, the byte, which is composed of 8 consecutive bits will support one character. You may hear a computer classified by the number of bits it can process at one time. The greater the number of bits, the faster the machine and the larger the program that it can support.

Black hat hacker - an individual who uses her or her computer skills to damage computers or data.

Blog - a Website, usually on a given topic, that is (should be) continually updated with the posts in reverse chronological order. Some blogs offer readers a way to comment,.

Bomb - a situation in which a program hangs. Often you can close this program and reopen it and resume work. See computer crash.

Bookmark - the name some browsers (Fireworks and Netscape) give to a collection of Web addresses that the user has added to a list to make accessing it easy. Analogous to Favorites in IE.

Boolean logic - a form of logic seen in computer applications in which all values are expressed either as true or false. Symbols used to designate this are often called boolean operators. They consist of “and,” “or,” and “not.” They may be combined with mathematical operators such as equal to (=), more than(>), less than (<).

Boot sector virus - a computer virus that affects the boot sector of a disk or diskette. Hard disks contract it when a computer is booted (started) with an infected diskette in drive A.

Boot - To start the computer. The term originated in the early days of computing when starting a computer involved manually loading every set of instructions that the computer needed. The people who had to perform these tasks likened the process to “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps,” or pulling on a strap attached to the top of boots to put on a boot. The term stuck. See warm boot and a cold boot.

Braille reader - a device that is placed near or under the keyboard. Users use their fingers to “read” the information. (Chapter 15)Broadband - The name given to transmission wires that can carry several channels of information at the same time. Internet connections with TV cable, DSL, and fiberoptic cable are examples. Provides for a faster connection to the Internet.

Browser - Short for Web browser, this is the name given to the software that locates, downloads and displays Web pages. Two popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer® and Mozilla Firefox®. Both of these are graphical browsers, which means that they can display graphics as well as text. Lynx, although not used commonly used is a text browser. It is often the browser of choice for people with severe visual disabilities. (Chapter 15)

BSA - see Business Software Alliance

Bug - an error or defect that causes either hardware or software to malfunction, or perform differently than what the designer or programmer had intended. Given the complexity of today’s systems and software bugs are difficult to completely eliminate.

Bullets - in computer talk, a mark used to precede an item in a list. Application programs allow many shapes to be used as bullets. Presentation programs that create slides, call a slide in which each point is enumerated separately and preceded by a symbol a bullet slide.

Bus - conceptually, a bus is a highway that transmits data. Physically it is a set of wires through which data in a computer passes. It consists of two parts, a data bus and address bus. The address bus transfers the information to the location specified by the address bus. The size of a bus is referred to as its bandwidth and it is measured by the number of bytes that can be transmitted at the same time. The wider the bus, the faster the transmission, hence a 32 bit bus is faster than a 16 bit bus.

Bus topology - a type of connection for networks in which each computer is connected to one cable called the backbone or bus.

Business Software Alliance (BSA) - an organization that works to promote the growth of the software industry. One of its primary educational aims is to prevent software piracy. BSA provides a hot line for callers who wish to report piracy. It also investigates and prosecutes cases of software piracy.

Byte - an abbreviation for “binary term,” which is a unit of storage, consisting of eight consecutive bits, that holds a single character (e.g., a letter, number, or symbol such as &). It represents 2 to the 8th power (2^8) or the number 256 which is the maximum number of characters that can be represented by a byte. Units of storage are measured using byte as the end of the word, with a term indicating thousands, millions, etc. of bytes as a prefix. For example, the prefix “kilo” indicates 1,000 and a kilobyte is roughly 1,000 bytes. Actually, because these prefixes are representative of powers of 2, the actual number of bytes in a represented by the prefix is greater than the prefix translated literally indicates. For example, a kilobyte represents 2 to the 10th power or 1,024 bytes.

C - a third level programming language, C is powerful and flexible. Because it is closer to assembly language (a second level language) programmers using it can write efficient code, however, it is more difficult to use than many other third level languages.

C++ - a third level programming language that adds object-oriented features to the C language. It is frequently used for graphical applications.

Cable modem - a modem for use with cable TV lines. Cable modems can provide transmission speeds of up to 2 megabits per second. Its speed plus the presence of cable TV in many homes gives it appeal.

Cache - a special form of memory that permits the CPU to access data faster. There are two types, memory cache, which is a special type of RAM where the computer stores frequently used information, and disk cache. In disk cache, a portion of RAM is set aside for data from a disk that the computer has determined the user frequently needs. L1 cache is built into the microprocessor, L2 is added on to improve performance.

CAD - Computer Aided Design

CAI - see computer-assisted instruction

CAL - Computer Aided Learning - see computer-assisted instruction

Card - a thin, rectangular plate known as a printed circuit board on which chips and other electronic components are placed. There are many different types such as a motherboard, an expansion board and a network card. See circuit board.

Case sensitive - a condition in which the computer evaluates not only the characters entered, but also whether a letter is upper or lower case. Passwords are usually case sensitive, as can be the addresses of Web sites after the first single forward slash (\).

CATLINE - NLM database for books.

CBI - computer-based instruction - see computer-assisted instruction

Cc - carbon copy. A method of sending an email message to more than one person.

CCC - Clinical Care Classification (formerly the HHCC). System developed by Saba originally to predict resource use in home care for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Now use in all clinical areas.

Cell Address - the location of a cell or rectangle in a spread sheet, it is expressed by using the letter at the top of the column and the number of the row in which it is located, e.g. C4 would mean the cell under the C that is also in fourth row.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) - sometimes referred to as the “brains” of the computer, the CPU is the most important element of a computer system. The CPU contains the ALU and the control unit. They are named by the manufacturer an are one of the determining factors in how a computer behaves in terms of speed, and compatibility.

Chart - the term used by computer programs for a graph. The term graphic is used for images, generally pictures, but it can refer to any object that can be treated as a whole.

Chat - a term used for synchronous, or real-time communication via text on a computer. After initiating the chat, either user types messages which appear on the other users monitor. Often more than two people are involved in a chat. This mode of communication is sometimes used in Web-based learning. It can be confusing because as a user is replying to one message, another may appear.

Child table - a detail table in a relational database. The child table has a field that is identical to one in the master table so that data from other fields in the child can be integrated with data from fields in the master table.

Chip - a semi-conducting square often less than ¼ square inches that can contain millions of electronic circuits. The CPU is one of many types of chips that are used in a computer.

Chunking - an educational theory that holds that information in short term memory is limited to seven items, plus or minus two.

CINAHL - A bibliographic database for nursing, allied health, alternative therapies, and patient/consumer health that includes more nursing periodicals than any other database. It also indexes knowledge-based information resources in many formats. CINAHL is produced by Cinahl Information Systems in Glendale, CA.

Circuit board - a thin, rectangular plate, often called a card, on which chips and other electronic components are placed. There are many different types such as a motherboard, an expansion board and a network card.

Classification - a method of grouping like items so that they can be referred to in a more abstract manner. Typically done in a taxonomy.

Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) - see IP address.

Client - a networked computer, such as a PC that relies on a server for some operations. These functions include sending and receiving email, storing files for use throughout the network, and in some cases processing data. The client may be a video-text terminal, or a powerful computer capable of doing its own processing.

Client-server architecture - a type of network connection in which PCs or workstations called clients have software that allows them to communicate with another computer, known as the server, which can process and respond to the requests from the clients. Servers can process information, and store files used by all, including application programs. The WWW is an example of client server architecture as are many healthcare information systems.

Clinical Pathway - a program that provides timing and sequence of key interventions necessary for the desired patient outcome.
Clip art - a form of electronic artwork that can be inserted into a computer document. Most word processors and presentation programs come with clip-art, or clip-art for the program can be bought separately. Clip-art can also be found on the web. When using clip-art check the copyrights to be certain the use is legal.

Clip art - an image that has already been created for use as a graphic. Many come with the office suites and many more are available for downloading on the vendor’s site. They may also be obtained from the Web. When using them be certain that one is not violating copyright laws.

Clipboard - a place in the computer’s memory (RAM) on which objects that are being cut or copied are kept. Once on the clipboard, an object remains there until replaced by another object, or deleted from the clipboard by the user.

Clock speed - The measurement of how often a pulse of electricity “cycles” or circulates through the circuits of a chip which determines how fast information is processed. The more cycles per given time period, the greater the processing speed. Clock speed that use to be measured in megahertzes (MHz) on newer computers is measured in gigahertzes (GHz).

Clone - a product that functions exactly like the more well-known product. A PC that was an IBM clone would perform exactly like the IBM.

CMI - see computer managed instruction

CNPII - Committee for Nursing Practice Information Infrastructure. The ANA committee that reviews terminologies for recognition.

Cobol - a third level programming language designed for business applications.

Code - statements written in a programming language which are the computer is capable of executing to perform a function.

Cold boot - Turning on a computer and having it run through all the start up procedures needed before it can be used. As opposed to a warm boot in which case the computer is restarted without turning it off.

Collective intelligence - knowledge and understanding that emerges from large groups of people.

Community Health Information Network (CHIN) - a network of integrated health records of selected data for a community. When a CHIN is functional, the information would be available to healthcare providers such as hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other health interested organizations such as public health, social services, employers and educational institutions.

Compatibility - the ability of parts of a computer to work together. It may refer to the ability of an operating system to work with user created files or the ability of an application program to work with files created with a later version of the same program. For example, files created on a Macintosh computer and saved in their native format are not compatible with any applications on a PC.

Chip or software program to work with versions of a program or the files created using a program when they differ from those which the program or chip was originally designed or used. See backward compatibility.

Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE). Although the term says physician, it includes nurse practitioners with prescriptive authority. It describes the use of the computer to enter prescriptions. These systems should be able to catch not only errors in prescribing, but also problems with drug interactions or allergies that could present a problem. In short, a well designed CPOE should be a decision support system for clinicians who prescribe medications. It will not make decisions for the clinician, but present difficulties, if any, that it sees with a given order.

Compile - part of the process of converting a program not written in the lowest level language (machine language) to machine language so it can be run by the computer. Programming languages are referred to as source code, while the final product is machine language. For programs in all languages except Java this is done before the program is distributed. With Java the computer compiles the program as it is run meaning that it will work with any operating system.

Composite key - a key for a database that is composed of two or more fields. A key field is a field that a database will always be indexed (sorted) on and one that is unique in the database, that is no other record in the database will have the same entry in the key field. In a composite key, there may be instances where one of the entries in a key field will be identical with those in other records, but the combination of entries in the fields will be the only instance of that combination in the database.

Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI) - instruction delivered by computer. Can vary from a simple computer program to one involving multimedia.

Computer crash - a situation in which the computer stops working or a program unexpectedly gives you an error message and quits work, taking all the unsaved data with it. A crash is NOT the operators fault. They are often caused by “memory fights,” that is two programs demanding the same slot in memory with the one that was there first refusing to relinquish it. They may also be caused by too little RAM. If a computer is crashing repeatedly there may be a hardware or software bug, or the computer may need more RAM.

Computer fluency - The skills, knowledge, and desire necessary to not only use the computer in a current setting, but to acquire new skills as the environment demands.

Computer generated information systems - computer applications that assist individuals in creating information and knowledge. There are many types: decision support tools, expert systems, and artificial intelligence.

Computer languages - a way of communicating with a computer. There are several levels of languages, lowest, machine language; second level, assembly; third level, high-level languages such as Basic or C; and fourth level languages such as standard query language. The higher the level of language, the closer it comes to natural language, the lower the language the closer it is to machine language.

Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) - a system that performs some of the administrative tasks that are a part of computer-based-instruction. May also deliver the instruction.

Computer freeze - a situation in which the computer decides to ignore any input from a user. This is usually related to one program and may be remedied by tapping and holding down in order the following keys: Ctrl, Alt, and Delete. Then selecting end this program from the screen that appears. Another term for this occurrence is “hang,” as in “My word processor hung.”

Computer-managed-learning (CML) - See computer-managed-instruction.

Computer malware - software that does malicious things. Includes viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, spyware, and some adware.

Computer networking - the connection of two or more computers so that they can share files and/or data.

Computer-Assisted-Instruction (CAI) - instruction delivered by computer.

Computer Virus - See virus.

Computer-based Patient Record Institute (CPRI) - a non-profit organization composed of members of groups such as nursing, medical records, dentistry, patients, and third party payors whose goal is the development of the computerized patient record.

Computerized Patient Record (CPR) - a lifelong record of healthcare for an individual. The system in which it resides will provide clinicians ready access to knowledge from many sources that is related to any aspect of the patient’s and perform predetermined analyses to find conditions that need attention, and provide access to information resources such as articles in periodicals.

Confidentiality - the protection of information about individuals from unauthorized use.

Consumer Informatics - an applied science using concepts from communication, education, behavioral science and social networking {Houston, 2001 #1370}. It is designed to provide healthcare information to consumer/patients, allow consumers to make informed decisions, promote healthy behaviors, and promote information exchange and social support.{Houston, 2001 #1370}. It often refers to consumer use of electronic communications such as email and the Web in their healthcare. Its aim is to improve health outcomes through consumer participation in their healthcare.

Context-sensitive help - help that when requested, matches the general feature that you are using. For example, if you entering vital signs into a hospital information system, when you tapped F1 to request help, help for accomplishing that task would automatically be accessed.

Control unit - an element in the CPU that obtains program instructions and either carries them out itself or directs them to the ALU to be accomplished.

Cookie - a WWW phenomenon in which a visited site sends a piece of data to the users computer and reads it the next time the user visits the site. The information is stored in an ASCII text file called the cookie file. Cookies enable the visited site to better serve the visitor. They do NOT read any information from a user’s hard drive except what is in the cookie file.

CPR - acronym for computerized patient record. (See computerized patient record.)

CPT - American Medical Association’s Common Procedural Terminology

CPU - see Central Processing Unit

Cracker - an individual who illegally breaks into computer systems with the intent of doing damage. This term has faded in use and been replaced by the term hacker. A better term for these individuals is “black hat hacker.”

Crash - see computer crash

Crop - To cut part of an image out of a picture. When cropping is done in a presentation program, the original image is preserved, just parts of it are invisible. In graphical programs, it is possible to cut out the portion of an image that one wants and delete the rest.

Ctrl+ - The ctrl (control) key is a key on a computer keyboard. When you see an instruction written Ctrl+D or any other key including the shift key, hold down the ctrl key while depressing the other keys.

Cumulative stress disorder (CSD)- An inflamation or damage to tendons that occurs when repeated stress is placed on the tendons, muscles, or nerves. Sometimes referred to as a repetitive strain injury (RSI) or a cumulative trauma disorder.

Cursor - the original term designating the screen location where whatever the user entered would appear. Today referred to as the “insertion point.”

Cyber-chondriac - term used to designate those who use the Web for health information. The term is a combination of the terms cyber and hypochondria to coin a word that tends to appear pejorative, or implying that a person is obsessive, but Harris International views it as a healthy habit {Harris Interactive, 2002 #1455}.

Data - a discrete piece of objective “information.” Theoretically it is the plural of datum, but in common usage data is used to designate both singular and plural forms of the word. Data can have many different nuances for a computer. In a database it is a piece of information about something, e.g. the pulse of a client. It can be used to refer to any information that we input into a computer in any format such as a word processing document, a spreadsheet or slides that we have created with a presentation program. It is one of the major concepts in nursing informatics theory.

Data dump - Erasing files from a disk in a way that makes it impossible for recovery programs to read any data. May also be called disk wiping.

Data Flow Diagram (DFD) - a visualization of how data flows through an information system. There will be symbols that indicate where the data is collected, where it flows after being collected, where it is stored, how it is processed, and its eventual destination. Like maps, they can be very detailed as with a part of a system, for an entire hospital information system, or even a regional or national information system.

Data bank - a collection of data in data base format about a given subject. A data bank of client information would contain specified data about many patients probably from different sources, a data bank of movies would contain information about many movies.

Database - A collection of data structured so that desired information can be quickly found. Can exist in a paper format, e.g. a phone book, but is more efficient when in an electronic format. With a phone book in electronic format you could easily find to whom a number or a given address belonged, or reorder the records by phone numbers. A typical database is structured with fields and records that are organized into tables (files).

Data mining - an analytical, automated process that uses computer “intelligence” to discover hidden relationships in large databases that are too complex to be found using conventional statistical techniques.

Data security - the protection of data such that it is retrievable 10, 25 or 50 years after it is entered into a computer. This involves all procedures that protect data from loss or corruption such as computer crashes and natural and man-made disasters, as well as ensuring compatibility between the method of storage and current retrieval modes.

Data warehouse - A data warehouse is a collection of diverse data from sources that one would not think of relating that is specifically structured for query and analysis. Developing a data warehouse involves processes that extract the data, then clean and date it.

Database management system (DBMS) - a system that manages a collection of databases that enable users to store, modify, and extract information. A hospital information system and a computerized library system are examples.

Decision models - a simplified representation of a situation that can be used for making decisions. A map is a model used to make decisions about the best route from point A to point B.

Decision-support systems - part of an information system that correlates information from many different sources including specific patient data and the literature to provide suggestions to the clinician. They include spreadsheets in which a user creates a model to use and specially designed decision tools that assist the user to structure the problem and make a decision based on a weighted analysis of the analysis.

Decrypt - the process of translating a coded, or encrypted, message into a readable format.

Deep linking - a hyperlink on a Web page that links to a page other than the sites’ home page. In most Web sites a home page is the top page in the hierarchy of pages. Home pages are often the information just beyond the two forward slashes of an URL to the next forward slash. Any characters beyond that link to other pages on the site are called deep links.

Default - the setting, value or procedure that a program or device will automatically assume unless specifically given other instructions. Margin settings in a word processor and width of columns in a spreadsheet are but one of many instances.

Default drive - the disk drive that the computer will save files to or read files from unless given other instructions.

Defrag - a system utility program that defrags a disk. When a computer stores files on disks if a file is too large to be stored in one sector (physical section of a disk that can be located with an address), parts of the file are stored in other sectors. These sectors are not always contiguous, creating more wear on the drive as well as taking more time for the drive to find the complete file. When a disk is defragged, the sectors for all files are moved to contiguous locations.

De-identify (data) the process of removing any information from aggregated data that could be used to identify the person about whom the data was created.

Denial of service attack - An condition in which an attacker prevents legitimate users from accessing information or services such as email or a company’s Web site. The most common type occurs when an attacker floods a network with information, often with spam. In a distributed denial-of-service attack, an attacker takes advantage of security vulnerabilities on other computers and programs them to send huge amounts of data to a Web site often causing the Web site to crash, but always making it inaccessible to use by legitimate users. To protect your computer from being part of this scheme, install and maintain both firewall and anti-virus software.

Desk top publishing - the use of the personal computer, specialized programs, and a high quality printer to produce written material that resembles material that is professionally printed.

Desktop computer - a personal computer that consists of a monitor, keyboard and CPU unit. The CPU unit can be a “desktop,” (one that has its largest surface parallel to a horizontal surface) or a “tower” (a unit whose largest surface is vertical to the ground and is meant to stand upright).

Detail table - a table in a relational database that has a field that is identical to one in the master table. This enables data from other fields in the detail table to be integrated with data from other fields in both tables to create a form or a report. Sometimes called a child table.

DHHS -Department of Health and Human Services, sometimes just referred to as HHS (Health and Human Services)

Digital - - A system that is based on discontinuous, discrete, data instead of a continuous, or analog data. A digital watch shows only given times, sometimes to the second, often to the minute. An ordinary clock, on the other hand is an analog device. In a regular clock the hands move continuously around the face depicting every conceivable time.

Dialog box - a window that pops up that allows a user to make selections.

Dial-up connection - a method of connecting to the Internet in which the user “dials” a number to establish the connection. This is the slowest form of Internet connection and is still prevalent in many rural areas.

Digital format - data that is discontinuous and discrete, as opposed to continuous.

Digital camera - a camera that records images on a disk rather than on file. So named because the images are digits, rather than true images. These images can be downloaded to a computer and manipulated with a graphics program. The quality of the output is limited by the memory in the camera, the resolution of the digitizing mechanism and by the resolution of the output device which could be a computer monitor or a printer.

Digital subscriber line - see DSL

Disk drive - a device that reads or retrieves data from and writes (saves) data to a disk. There are different types of disk drives, e.g. a hard disk drives which read and write data to a computer’s internal hard disk, floppy drives that read and write to a diskette, and optical disk drives which read and may right to optical disks such as CD-ROMS.

Diskette - any removable disk that can read or write data to a disk with the exception of a CD-ROM or DVD. The original diskettes were physically floppy. The term “floppy disk” is now sometimes used for the more firm storage diskettes (3.5in) that are in use today.

Directory - the original name for file folder on a PC. Still used on larger computers and the Web. See folder.

Disk drive - a machine that reads and writes data onto a disk. It rotates the disk very fast and has one or more “heads’ that read and write data. It is accessed via a slot that matches the type of the disk, generally on the front of the computer. Disk drives can be either housed within the computer (internal) or housed in a separate box that connects to the computer (external).

Disk wiping- Erasing files from a disk in a way that makes it impossible for recovery programs to read any data. May also be called data dumping.

Distance Learning - learning in which the learners are physically separate from the teacher. Modes of learning include correspondence, video, CAI, and the Internet. See synchronous and asynchronous learning.

Distributed Learning - education that is not face to face and which uses some form of technology.

Docking Station - a device that is designed to be attached to a portable computer. They provide a laptop user with the amenities of a desktop computer such as a regular size monitor, full-size keyboard, regular mouse. May be called a port replicator or computer extender.

Document - in this book, any item created by a user in an application program. See file.

Domain - a part of the hierarchical naming systems for the Internet. Top Level Domains can provide clues as to the type of organization sponsoring that Internet site and the country where this server resides. The letters in the top level domain will be found after the last period, in the first segment of the computer name following the “http://”. E.g. in the URL http://www.nursingcenter.com/store/, the letters “com” represent the top domain.

Domain Name System (DNS) - a system under which each computer on the Internet has a registered number and a name. The alphabetic names are generally used when sending messages because they are easier to remember. The DNS translates these computer names into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. For example, the domain name www.example.com might translate to 198.105.232.4. If one DNS server doesn't know how to translate a particular domain name, it asks another one, and so on, until the correct IP address is returned.

Download - moving computer data from one computer to another. This term usually refers to moving data from a server to a smaller computer.

Downstream - the term used to refer to data that is sent from a server to a client. Often used to refer to information that is sent from the Internet to a user. See upstream.

DOS - the acronym for the original PC disk operating system developed by Microsoft®. Although it can refer to any operating system, DOS is usually used to denote the operating system for early PCS, which has been replaced by Windows.

Dot - the way that a period in an URL or email address is spoken. For example the email address Florence.Nightingael@StThomasInfirmary.org would be spoken aloud as “Florence dot Nightingale at StThomas dot org.”

Dot pitch - this term refers to how much vertical distance there is between each pixel. The smaller the dot pitch, the sharper the image. If, however, the distance is too small the screen brightness and contrast will be lessened. On color monitors the range is from 0.22 mm to 0.42 mm. The 0.22 mm dot pitch gives a better picture than the 0.42mm.

DRAM - dynamic RAM. It is the type of RAM found in most micro-computers. See SRAM and RAM.

Driving force - behaviors, beliefs, organizational culture that exist in an organization or individual that can be a positive force towards change, or a force that helps to maintain equilibrium.

Download - transmit information from a larger computer to a smaller one. This process is often associated with copying files from an Internet server to a PC, but it can also refer to copying information from a PC to a PDA type computer. See upload.

Downward compatibility - see backwardly compatible.

Digital subscriber line (DSL). A telephone line that uses sophisticated schemes to pack data so that it can be sent in digital format over existing phone lines. Can share the same line with regular voice. Usability is limited by the distance a user is from the telephone switching station.

DRGs - diagnosis related group. They are a classification of a hospital stay in terms of what was wrong with, and what was done for a patient.

Drop-down menu - a menu that appears or “drops down” when an item is clicked. Items that will present another menu when clicked are indicated by an ellipsis (...) or an arrow. Generally an arrow means another menu will appear and an ellipsis designates that a pop up dialog box will appear.

Driver - this is a program that controls the interface between a peripheral device such as a printer, or scanner and the computer. When a peripheral, such as a printer, is added to a system, the appropriate driver must also be installed to allow the device to work. This is why many peripherals come with diskettes. One of the hazards of buying generic equipment that does not come with a diskette, is that the driver for the device may not be easily available.

DSL - acronym for digital subscriber line. DSL technologies use sophisticated schemes to pack data onto existing telephone lines. Sometimes referred to as “last-mile” technologies because they are used for connection from the telephone switching station to a home or office. DSL requires that the client computer be less than 20,000 feet (as this is written - this may increase) from the telephone switching station. DSL sends information in an area of a telephone wire unused by normal voice communications, hence can operate simultaneously with voice connections. It requires a special DSL modem. There are different types of DSL, most connections today in the U.S. are ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines), while in Europe they are more often SDLS (symmetric digital subscriber line). Speeds vary depending on the type of DSL and the distance from the central station.

Dynamic IP address - and IP address that changes each time a user is on the Internet. Those who use POTS connections always have dynamic IP addresses. Cable and DSL line users often can choose between a dynamic or static IP address. See static IP address. Having a dynamic IP address makes it more difficult for intruders to invade a computer.

Early adopter - in Rogers’ Theory of Innovation, an individual who adopts an innovation before the majority and influences others to adopt the innovation.

Early majority - in Rogers’ Theory of Innovation, these individuals are influenced by early adopters who are averse to risks, but will adopt an innovation if they regard it as safe.

EFMI - European Federation of Medical Informatics

e-Health - the use of the emerging communication technologies to promote health both individually and for the general population. It includes telehealth, but also the use of many Internet tools.

e-Learning - the combining of electronics, generally some form of a computer, and instruction. May also be used to refer to online learning.

EIDE (Enhanced IDE) - an interface between the hard drive and the computer’s RAM.

Electronic mail - see email

Electronic mailing list - see Mailing list group.

Electronic format - something that has been computerized. A book that is accessible by computer would be said to be in electronic format.

Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR) - The complete record of an individual’s healthcare from many sources that is created and gathered cumulatively from more than one healthcare agency. It is managed and consulted by licensed healthcare providers involved in the individual’s healthcare.

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) - the electronic record of patient care created, and owned by a healthcare agency or healthcare provider office.

Electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR) - A cumulative electronic healthcare record for one individual that has information from multiple sources that is created, gathered, and managed by the individual who has control of the integrity of the data and access to it.

Electronic signature - a name affixed to a document that has a digital code attached to it that positively identifies the individual. For protection, this code may be encrypted. Sometimes called a digital signature because of the digital code attachment.

Email - the transmission of message(s) from one computer to a specified computer using a computer network. Email addresses are used to locate the recipient computer.

Embed - the term used to describe importing a object from one program in another program without copying the object. Once embedded, the object stands alone, and does not change if the original object is changed. See table 4-1 and link(2).

Emoticon - a combination of “emotional icon,” it is a small “picture” created with the normal keys on a keyboard meant to denote the writer’s mood in an email message. One needs to tilt one’s head to the left to “read them.” Also called “smileys”

EMR - acronym for Electronic Medical Record. See computerized patient record.

Encrypt - The translation of data into a secret code. In order to read an encrypted file it is necessary to access a password or secret key that returns it to normal text. Encrypted text is sometimes referred to as cipher text.

ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer

Encryption - the process of translating electronic data into a code that requires a code by the recipient to decode.

ENUDS - Emergency Nursing Uniform Data Set - a modification of the NMDS for emergency room nurses.

Entity - a name that is used for a table. Can also be referred to as a file.

EPR - Electronic Patient Record. See computerized patient record.

Ergonomics - designing work environments for maximizing safety and efficiency. It involves understanding how the human body functions and making sure that tasks and equipment are designed to maximize ease of use.

Error trap - a routine that a programmer puts into a program to catch an unintended entry. A well designed error trap will inform the user of what is wrong with the entry and provide instructions for making a correction. An example could be a user who inadvertently enters 55 (Celsius) as a patients’ temperature. The program would be set to catch any numbers beyond a reasonable human temperature such as 30 and 50, and would give the user a message such as “This entry does not seem reasonable for a temperature. Please enter a number between 30 and 50.”

Evidence-based practice - clinical practice in which decision making is guided by the best research evidence available, clinical knowledge, and consultation with the patient to decide the best patient care.

Executable file - a computer file that carries out instructions in response to the programming code it contains. Application programs are controlled by executable files.

Expert systems - a computer application designed for a specific domain such as obstetric nursing, to evaluate data and make a recommendation that an expert would make given the same situation. Expert systems have three overall parts, a data or knowledge base, an inference engine, and a user interface.

Exporting a file - Accessed from the File menu, this process converts a file from the format of the current application to that of another application, thus enabling two programs with different file formats to share the same data. Handles more complex tasks than “save as.”

Extranet - an extension of an intranet which provides accessibility to an agency’s intranet to a specific group of outsiders.

ezine - a type of online journal that is published regularly, but does not maintain archives and is not peer reviewed.

Factual database - one that provides reference material such as drug dosages, normal values for laboratory tests etc. They are often offered as software for hand held computers.

FAQ - see frequently asked questions

FAT or file allocation table - the “table of contents” for a disk.

Favorite - The term used by Microsoft Internet Explorer® to designate a list of folders that the user wishes easy access to. Analogous to Bookmark used by other browsers.

Fiber Optic Cable - a wire as thin as copper wire which contains very thin, pure glass fibers. Because the fibers are so small more fibers can be bundled in a size equivalent to a copper wire. Data travels over this cable in the form of light and is capable of speeds up to 186,000 miles per second, however, the technology to use all this speed has not yet been developed. It is the fastest method of sending data with speeds currently reaching 1000 megabits per second.

Field - a space in a database for a specific piece of data for a specific record. For example, an entry for a patient’s temperature would be entered into the temperature field in the record for that patient. In databases may be referred to as an attribute. Also used to describe the name for a piece of data inserted into a mail merge document.

Field entry - the data that is placed in a field in a record.

Field names - a label used to specify the contents of a field, e.g. the name “pulse” for the field containing pulse rates.

File - on a computer, a collection of data that has been saved to a disk and has a name. Among other things, files can contain text, numbers, and images as well as code needed to run programs. Files that are user created are best kept in one location. Computers usually have a default folder where users are expected to store the files that they create. May be named “My Documents,” or “Documents.” Users then create folders within that folder to store their files in an organized manner.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - a method of placing (uploading) files on the Internet or Web and retrieving (downloading) them. Web browsers handle the downloading seamlessly so users are unaware that this protocol is being used.

File extension - the characters in a file name after the dot in the name. E.g. in the name “Glossary.doc” the file extension is “doc” indicating a file created by Microsoft Word™.

File infector virus - a virus that affects executable files.

Financial managers - application programs that assist individuals or companies to manage finances. They can be as simple as an individual money manager or complex enough to manage entire industries.

Firewall - a means of preventing unauthorized access to or from an Intranet or other private network. They can involve either hardware or software or both. Further protection is provided by encrypting the information on the network.

Firewire - a type of connection between two electronic devices, often a computer and a webcam. Its actual speed of transmission is faster than a USB port and it is an excellent method of transferring uncompressed video files.

Fixed disk - a name sometimes used for a hard disk, it is a disk that is attached to the computer, the removal of which entails a lengthy process. See hard drive.

Flame - an email message which contains strong criticism, that is usually irrational or highly emotional.

Flame war - the result of an exchange of flames. They occur usually in news groups or electronic mailing lists. The exchange continues until cooler heads prevail. They can become very nasty when posters forget etiquette. More common in lists that discuss controversial subjects.

Flash drive - A portable flash memory device that plugs into a computer’s USB port and functions as a storage device. They are small enough to be carried in a pocket and can plug into any computer with a USB drive, but have large storage capabilities.

Flash memory - A special type of memory whose contents can be deleted and written to in blocks instead of one byte at a time.

Flat database - a database that contains only one table. A spreadsheet workshop is an example as is a table in a word processor.

Flash animation - Web animation designed with Adobe’s Flash Program. Requires a free plug-in that can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/. Using Flash technology a page looks the same in all Web browsers. These animations are “bandwidth friendly,” i.e. they are compressed and will load faster than many other graphical formats. If designing a Web page with animation when many of the potential users live in rural areas, check the download time before posting.

Flow chart - a graphical picture of a process with decision points and options. In more sophisticated versions also includes inputs and outputs.

Folder - the name given to a logical entity used to index files on a disk. It is similar in concept to a file folder in a filing cabinet. A folder can contain other folders as well as files.

Folksonomy - a method of collective intelligence in which groups share information by classifying it with a label.

Font - a name given to the design of characters (although in the non-computer world these are called typefaces). In the computer environment fonts are a combination of looks, spacing, size and attributes. Application programs have many different “fonts” available such as Times New Roman, Helvetica and Arial. Some of the so called fonts such as Wingdings are actually symbols.

Form - in databases or spreadsheets, a screen designed to ease data entry. Regardless of the order of the fields in the database on a form, the fields can be placed in the location that facilitates data entry. They may also be assigned a label that may not correspond to the field name in the database, but which provides information to facilitate data entry. Additional information for the individual entering data can also be included. Somewhat analogous to a 3 x 5 card used to record data.

Format (how something looks) - a menu option in Windows that usually has options that affect how things look. In a word processor this often refers to font, margins, justification or if the print will be in columns. In a spreadsheet format contains options for such things as column height and width.

Format cells - the ability to assign various attributes to the contents of the cell, e.g. have the program automatically add $, or a %.

Format (disk)- when referring to a computer disk this term means that the disk is prepared so that the particular type of computer, i.e., either a PC or a Macintosh, can read and write data to it. This process also checks the disk to see if has any bad sectors. If they are found the format program will close them off so they cannot be written to. Many diskettes come already formatted, however, if they are old, it will not hurt to reformat them. Formatting makes it impossible to retrieve any information that was on the diskette before it was formatted unless you are both lucky and have access to a “diskette guru.” Do NOT attempt to format a hard disk unless you are an experienced and knowledgeable computer user.

Forum - An electronic discussion group. Usually sponsored by an organization for its members or sometimes other interested parties. Generally requires registration and use of a login and password to access.

Forward compatibility (upward compatible) - programs that can run on newer versions of a computer. For example, if you have version 4.0 of a program and it will work on your new computer it is said to be forwardly compatible. Can also refer to the ability of version 8.0 of a program to create files that version 6.0 can read.

Fourth-generation language (4GL) - a programming languages closer to human language than typical third or high level languages. Many are used for database queries. See computer languages.

Frame - a device used in Web pages. The frame is the main page that users see, any information from another file that is seen has been inserted into the frame. They may be used to preserve navigational information on a page. They create difficulties for certain browsers and for screen readers hence do not pass usability tests from sites that will examine a page for general usability.

Free-nets - public computer network that has free access and that provides information and Internet access to citizens of that community.

Freeware - software that although copyrighted is given away by the author. Because the author retains the copyright you must follow the authors wishes in terms of what you can do with it, this usually precludes selling it. This is not public-domain software.

Freeze - see computer crash

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) - a list of questions and answers pertaining to a topic that the creator and maintainer of a site has found are often asked by users. A first stop in learning about a topic.

Function keys - keys at the top of the keyboard the have a number preceded by an “F.” They invoke features in an application program.

Functional interoperability - See technical interoperability.

FTP - acronym for file transfer protocol which is a method of transmitting files over the Internet.

Genomics - The study of the structure and function of genes. This science can help to explain individual variations in reactions to drugs, for example, why some drugs work with some patients, and not others, and which patients are most apt to develop side effects or certain diseases such as breast cancer.

Gigabyte - approximately more than a billion bytes (1,000,000,000).

Gigahertz - One billion hertzes, or one million cycles of electricity through a circuit per second. Often used to measure the clock speed of a processor. Less powerful computers measure this in megahertzs (One million hertzes).

GIGO - acronym for garbage in garbage out. This refers to the fact that if inaccurate information is entered into the computer, the output will also be inaccurate.

Glitch - A malfunction, sometimes used as a synonym for bug, but usually it refers to a hardware problem.

Goal seek - A spreadsheet function which allows, a cell with a formula to be set so that the value in a referenced cell will change to produce a given value.

Go live - the term used to indicate when a system will start operating.

Gopher - A text based tool developed at the University of Minnesota that allowed users to browse the Internet’s resources and make selections from menus. It featured a search tool of sorts known as Veronica, (Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Netwide Index to Computerized Archives). Gophers have become part of history with the rise of the WWW. Some of the more important documents that were available on Gophers have now been converted to web documents.

Gradient background - a background that starts with one color and gradually morphs to a lighter shade of that color, or even to white.

Granularity - The level of detail that a term in a standardized terminology represents. That is, how much of the antecedent actions that can be captured using a terms in a terminology. Often the terms in a terminology represent different levels of granularity.

Graphic- the term used on computers to refer to non-text displays, or images that use shapes not seen on a standard keyboard. This term often refers to pictures which are known as images. Graphics demand much more memory, in RAM, on a video board, and when printed. (Chapter 15)

Graphical User Interface (GUI) - a way of interacting with the computer in which the user makes selections from images called icons. This is often done by moving an object (often a mouse, or a trackball) that moves a pointer on the screen then clicking (depresses and releases) a button, known as point and click.

Grassroots Media - the widespread creation and posting to the Web of media such as video, photos, and blogs by non-professionals.

GRATEFUL MED - an Internet search engine for medical topics that can be accessed at http://igm.nlm.nih.gov/

Groupware - a type of software that facilitates collaboration by a group of colleagues attached to a network. It supports such things as scheduling meetings, email and electronic newsletters. It is sometimes called workgroup productivity software. Users can be sitting next to each other or half a world apart.

GUI - see graphical user interface

Hacker - originally this term meant a computer enthusiast who enjoys the challenge of doing the “impossible.” Today this term has been turned into a pejorative term for a cracker, or someone who uses computer skills to destroy computers or data. See black hat hacker and white hat hacker.

Hang - a type of computer crash in which a program suddenly refuses to respond to keyboard or mouse input. Often depressing the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys simultaneously will allow you to exit with some manner of control. See computer crash.

Hanging paragraph - a paragraph in which the margin of the first line is to the left of the margin for the other lines of text. Sometimes called an outdented paragraph. (See figure 9-3)

Hard disk - a fixed large disk inside a computer that reads and writes to the hard disk. The hard disk is usually the primary form of storage for PCs. They continue to increase in size which in PCs is now measured in gigabytes (1 billion bytes).

Hard return - tapping the Enter key to create a “permanent” new line, that is one that will always start a new line unless deleted.

Hardware - This term refers to that part of the computer that you can touch such as disks, disk drives, monitors, keyboards, speakers, printers, mice, boards, and chips. In audiovisual equipment it would be the slide projector or the film projector. Without software (the film) it is nothing more than an expensive paper weight.

Hard wired - connecting a computer to a network with a wire. Opposed to wireless in which the connection is by radio waves.

HCFA - (pronounced Hickva) Health Care Financing Administration

HCPCS - Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. Used for describing specific items and services provided in the delivery of health care for Medicare and Medicaid.

HDC - “HCFA” (Hickva) Data Centers

Health Level 7 - see HL 7

Healthcare informatics - the science of managing healthcare information that draws on information and computer science, healthcare discipline knowledge, and theories such as socio-technical theory, change theories, cognitive theory, usability prinicples, learning theories and chaos theory.

Health Information Exchange (HIE) - the electronic exchange of health-related data between healthcare agencies using agreed protocols, standards, and other criteria.

Health literacy - The ability of individuals to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. It includes not only the ability to understand health education brochures and doctor’s directions, but the ability to interpret instructions on prescription drug bottles, appointment slips and consent forms. It requires the ability to apply complex reading, listening, analytical and decision-making skills to health situations. {Sullivan, 2007 #1462}. (Chapter 15)

Health numeracy - the ability of consumers to access, process, interpret and act on numerical health information not just numbers, but in the form of graphical, biostatistical and probabilistic statements to make well-informed health decisions. {Golbeck, 2005 #1465} (Chapter 15)

HealthSTAR - an NLM bibliographic database which indexes books and technical reports, in addition to articles from the periodical literature. Indexed resources relate to the management, planning and evaluation aspects of health care.

HEDIS - Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, a plan to allow consumers and employers to compare effectiveness of health plans. Developed and maintained by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Hertz (Hz) - a unit of speed measurement per second. One hertz would be one cycle of electricity through a circuit per second. See megahertz and gigahertz.

HHCC - Home Health Care Classification, old name for the CCC.

HHS - Department of Health and Human Services

Hibernate - a method of shutting down the computer that can retrieve all programs and files that are open. It saves all this information to the hard drive and when the computer is reactivated, it is all retrieved.

Hierarchial Database - an early model for databases in which the data tables are organized in a tree format.

High Level Language - a third level programming language, e.g. Basic, Cobol, Ada or C.

HIMSS - Healthcare Information Management Systems Society.

HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) - A law passed by Congress in 1996 that is designed to protect patient privacy and to streamline administration tasks by requiring data to be standardized, i.e. to use the same coding. The HHS department was been charged with writing the rules to operationalize the Act. The privacy rules have been completed, but the rules governing transportability of data are still being considered. (Chapter 14)

HIT - Health Information Technology

HL7 (Healthcare Level 7) - criteria for transmitting healthcare data about patient registration, admission, discharge and transfers, insurance, charges and payors, orders and results for laboratory tests, image studies, nursing and physician observations, diet orders, pharmacy orders, supply orders, and master files. It defines the data to be transmitted and specifies how it will be transmitted.

Highlighted - an object such as a file, text, graphic etc. is highlighted when it is selected. Highlighting adds a temporary attribute to denote that the object has been selected. The highlighting disappears when the object is no longer selected.

Hoax - in computers, a message sent to people that is false. It is usually a warning of something. These easily proliferate by email. Check all warnings received by email at http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hoaxes/default.asp.

Home Health Care Classification (HHCC) - a classification system for nursing data, developed as a method to assess and classify Medicare home care patients in order to determine the resources required to provide home health services as well as the expected outcomes of care

Home page - (1) The document displayed when the computer named in the URL is accessed (the name of the computer is the letters between either the double forward slash or the www. and the first single forward slash. (2) A site on the Internet where a user can post any information that he or she would like to share with the world. It may be personal, or contain documents expressing a personal view on subjects as well as links to sites that the user wishes to make known to others.

Horizontal bar - a bar or box on the bottom of a screen that allows a user to move to portions of the screen that are either to the right or left. Is especially useful in spreadsheets and some Web pages.

Hospital Information System (HIS) - an information system that allows information from many hospital departments to be exchanged. There are generally systems within an HIS such as order/entry, lab, radiology and nursing.

Hot link - 1) A link between the same object in two programs. See Link (2). 2) an area in a Web document that is a hyperlink.

Hot plug - the ability of a computer to recognize new devices, such as a digital camera, that are added while the computer is running. Also allows devices to be removed during computer operation.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) - the main language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. It includes formatting tags and hypertext links.

HTTP (HyperText Transmission Protocol) - the series of protocols that defines how WWW messages are formatted and what actions WWW servers and browsers will take.

Hypertext - a type of cross-referencing in which text or objects are linked to another file or another spot in the current file. In a Web document hyper linked text is usually indicated by a blue color and underlining. Placing one’s mouse pointer on that word and clicking retrieves the file linked to that word, or moves the screen to the linked location in the same document. Objects that are hyper linked will cause the mouse pointer to become a hand when it is located over the object.

Hypertext Markup Language - see HTML

Hz - (see hertz and refresh.)

IAMIS - see Integrated Advanced Information Management System

ICD-9 International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision

ICD-9CM - International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modifications.

ICD-10 International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, includes nursing.

ICD-11 International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision.

ICNP - see International Classification of Nursing Practice

Icon - a small picture that represents an object or program. In Windows applications, the user clicks on an icon to make a selection.

IDE - an acronym for Intelligent Drive Electronics or Integrated Drive Electronics. It is the interface between hard drives or CD-ROMs and the computer.

If/then/else - a branch control statement in an algorithm that tests a variable and executes instructions based on the results of that test, e.g. if the variable is equal to 3, flag the item, in which case if the variable it is testing equals any number but 3 it will not flag the item. When else is added the else will be executed when the If statement is false. The else may be another if statement.

Image Map - A Web graphic that has clickable links embedded within it. For example, a graphic of a heart may contain clickable links for each chamber, the valves, and the vessels. The links would lead to more explanation about each structure. May be used as a navigation bar.

IMAP (Internet Mail Access Protocol) - The protocol that permits an email client software to access remote messages.

IMIA - International Medical Informatics Association

Importing a file - Accessed from the file menu, this process does a real-time conversion of a file from the format of one application program to that of the application program that is retrieving the file. Allows the retrieving application program to use the data from another application program.

Index Medicus - A print index published by NLM, which contains citations to the biomedical literature from journals reviewed and selected by the NLM Literature Selection Technical Review Committee (LSTRC). Index Medicus includes indexing for approximately 15% of the nursing journals indexed in MEDLINE.

Infinite loops - a condition caused by a series of programming instructions that are repeated over and over with no way to stop the loop without stopping the program. Although most examples are found in the programming world, electronic mailing lists provide an excellent example. If a subscriber to a listserv sets his or her email to automatically reply that the subscriber will be out of the office, when a message is received from the list the automatic reply is posted to the list which returns it to the subscriber whose email again automatically posts another message to the listserv ad infinitum. This lack of responsibility on the part of listserv subscribers has caused many lists to set their default reply to go just to the poster, which has reduced the discussions to only those who know enough to use the “Reply All” function when replying to a list message.

Informatics nurse - a nurse who works in nursing informatics with on-the-job training.

Information - data that has been interpreted. E.g. 37 is data. It becomes information when it is labeled Celsius. One of the core concept in nursing informatics theory.

Information Literacy - the ability to define a need for information, and the skills to locate, evaluate and synthesize information to meet this need.

Informatics - the science of the management of information using computers.

Informatics nurse specialist - a nurse who works in nursing informatics, but who has either a master’s or doctoral degree or a post master’s or post doctoral certificate in informatics.

Information superhighway - a name given to the Internet, although as envisioned to evolve it will have an infrastructure that will support much faster transmission of data.

Information technology - a subject that focuses on managing and processing information, usually within an agency. The department charged with this responsibility may be called the “IT” department, the IS (Information Services) or MIS (Management of Information Services).

Information technology skills - a group of skills consisting of the ability to use current computer technology, an understanding of the foundations of technology that enable one to increase one’s technological skills when changes occur, and the intellectual capital to do so.

Innovator - in Rogers’ Theory of Innovation an individual who quickly adopts an innovation. May be seen as disruptive to an organization by those who are averse to taking a risk.

IOM - Institute of Medicine

Input - in general systems theory, information that a system gains in some manner. In a computer system, data that is entered into the system either manually or automatically.

Insertion point - a Windows term that means the screen location where whatever is typed will be placed. Is seen on the screen as a symbol that blinks. The exact symbol varies with the application program in use. May be referred to as the cursor.

Instant Messaging - real-time communication by computer when one party knows that another is online and available to receive the message. Can provide communication between a number of parties simultaneously. Requires special software.

Integrated Advanced Information Management System (IAIMIS) - a system begun at the University of Washington in Seattle to assist organizations in integrating various computer systems. Now working to integrate institutions in the region.

Interactive processing (also known as transaction processing) - a method of processing information by a computer in which the computer responds immediately to user requests which are termed transactions. Giving a command to a spreadsheet and getting a response is a transaction.

Interactive video - a program in which information from a video source is integrated with a computer program. Sources for the video can include a video tape, a laser disk or CD-ROM. This term will be supplanted by multi-media. All but the CD-ROM require a video player (either disk or tape), a card inside the computer and software to integrate it all.

Interface - In computerese, this term can be either a noun or a verb. When used as a noun it refers to the software program that a user manipulates to give commands to the computer. As a verb it signifies how two devices communicate, that is, how they transmit data between them. For example, when a computer sends information to the printer, it is interfacing with the printer. This type of interface besides requiring a physical connection, also requires a piece of software known as a driver. It can also refer to the ability of different computer systems to exchange data with another.

Interface terminology - a standardized terminology that is used by clinicians to enter data into a computerized information system. NANDA, the Omaha System, and the PNDS are examples of interface terminologies in nursing.

Interlace - a technique used in monitors to produce more resolution. If a monitor is interlaced, the electron guns only draw half the horizontal lines with each pass and the other half on the next pass. Because only half the lines are refreshed at once, twice as many lines can be displayed per refresh cycle. Unfortunately, it also reduces the speed that the monitor shows images. Interlacing will actually produce higher resolution, but it slows down the speed with which the computer shows images thus it may produces screen flicker. Most monitors are non-interlaced. See non-interlaced.

International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) - a system developed by the International Council of Nurses to enable the description and comparison of nursing data for clinical populations around the world.

International Nursing Index - a nursing index published by Lippincott-Raven which is the print counterpart to the nursing content in MEDLINE. INI also includes additional material not in MEDLINE, such as a list of doctoral dissertations in nursing.

Internet protocol (IP) - one of the two Internet protocols, the IP is responsible for locating the computer in the address and directing the message to the correct location.

Internet - A world wide network of computers that traces its origins to 1969. It enables email and provides access to the World Wide Web.

Internet Service Providers (ISP) - a company that provides a connection to the Internet. ISPs can be an online service, that is offer many features, or a plain vanilla ISP offering only a way to connect to the Internet.

Interoperable - the ability of software and hardware from different vendors to be used together without modification or the development of custom interfaces or tools. Interoperability allows the exchange of information between systems.

Intranauts - a nickname for those who cruise, use and innovate on the Internet

Intranet - Networks which are accessed using a web browser, but are only available to users within a specific organization.

Invisible Web - the portion of the web that is not accessible to search tools. It may be password protected, or it may be a page created on the fly, e.g. the page created when search a bibliographic database.

IOM - Institute of Medicine

IP address - although the usual way that a computer on the Internet is addressed is through a name, each of these names is backed up by a number assigned to the computer. The address is four numbers form one to 255 separated by a period. Routers have an updated list of IP addresses and refer to this list when a computer name is used in an address. Given the proliferation of Internet nodes (a computer on a network is called a node), it has become necessary to devise a new method of numbering computers. Known as the Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) this system provides for new IP addresses end with a slash followed by a number. IP addresses can be dynamic or static. A dynamic address changes each time a user connects to the Internet. A static IP address is permanent.

ISDN - An acronym for integrated services digital network, which is a special type of telephone line that allows a data transfer rate of 64 kbps (Kilobits per second - remember that a bit is 1/8th of a byte) which is four or five times the rate provided by the fastest modems. An ISDN line sends information digitally and does not require a modem.

ISP - see Internet Service Provider

Java - a programming language that allows any program written in this language to be used with any operating system.

Java Script - a scripting language that is interpreted in run-time that runs in Web browsers. It easily interacts with HTML elements.

Jaz disk - a disk that can contain from 1-4 gigabytes of data. It is portable diskette and is inserted into a special drive known as a jaz drive. They are fairly obsolete now, replaced by flash drives connected to a USB port.

JCAHO - Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

Joy stick - a device for moving a pointer on the screen. It consists of a box with a stick that protrudes vertically from the box. Moving the stick causes the screen pointer to start moving in the direction that the stick was moved. To stop the pointer movement it is necessary to return the stick to an upright vertical position.

Justification - the alignment of text. Left or right justification lines up the text with the left or right margin respectively. Center justification centers every line. Full or justify makes all lines of text even with both margins.

Keyboard - an input device for a computer that resembles a typewriter keyboard, but with many other keys. The keys on computer keyboards consist of alphanumeric keys (the letters and numbers, punctuation keys, function and control keys, arrow keys, keys to delete, insert and move the insertion point, and shift and caps lock key.

Key field - a field in a database whose data will distinguish that record from all others in the database. E.g. if the medical record number is used as a key field the same record number cannot be used again for another client in that database. The database will always be indexed or sorted on that field. See composite field.

Kilobit - 1000 bits (not bytes!). A bit is 1/8th of a byte.

Kilobits - measure of the speed with which information travels on the Internet

Kilobyte - 1024 bytes. See Byte.

Knowledge -the product of transforming data to information and synthesizing the result with other information. This information can be combined by a human or a computer. One of the core concepts in nursing informatics theory.

Knowledge Discovery - The process of finding information from a large electronic database such as electronic health records. Uses data mining.

L1 or level one cache - the memory cache built into a given chip, i.e. it comes with that chip no matter what brand of computer you buy.

L2 or level two cache - Additional memory cache above and beyond what comes with the chip. Will vary from brand to brand and model to model of computers.

Laggard -in Rogers’ Theory of Innovation individuals who are suspicious and resistant to innovations and change. They perceive their resistance as rationale and must be certain that the innovation will not fail before they can adopt it. This group, instead of being discounted should be listened to. They may grasp weaknesses that others fail to see.

LAN see Local Area Network

Landscape orientation - the name given to paper that has it’s long side on the top and bottom. It is the default orientation in presentation programs. See portrait orientation.

Laptop computer - A small, portable computer that theoretically can be used on a lap. The more common name today is notebook computer.

LCD - acronym for Liquid Crystal Display. When discussing laptops, this refers to a type of display screen often used on these computers. It also refers to a panel that is connected to the display output port of a computer and placed on top of an overhead projector to project the image on the computer screen.

Late majority - in Rogers’ Theory of Innovation a member of the group who will only adopt an innovation if it is perceived as beneficial.

Learning-content-management-system (LCMS)- a type of software that organizes learning objects such as slides, video clips, illustrations, quiz questions, and even course modules then presents them in infinite combinations to meet instructors needs.

Learning-management-system (LMS) - see computer-managed-instruction and learning content management system.

Lecture replacement model - the use of a computer slide presentation to replace a synchronous presentation. The slides must stand alone, and must therefore be designed differently than when a presenter is present to answer questions and explain points.

Lecture support model - the use of a computer slide presentation as a support for a synchronous presentation. Slides in this model are used to help the audience focus on the presenter’s message and do not substitute for the message.

Legacy system - an older computer system that is still in use and needs to be integrated into a newer system.

Light pen - a device used to choose something from a computer screen. The user points the light pen at the desired selection on the screen and clicks the light.

LISP - a third level computer language designed for programming artificial intelligence, it is an acronym for LISt Processor.

Listserv - a group that exchanges information about a specific topic through group emails.

Link - 1) the name given to areas in a Web document that when clicked will open the file named in the link. Links may also be used in regular application program documents. 2) The term given when an object in one program is linked to an object in another program. When changes are made to the object in either program, they are made to the object in the both programs. See embed.

Local Area Network - a network of computers that includes computers in a relatively small area such as a department or a single building. LANs can be connected to form a WAN (wide area network).

Logical - the way a user sees things. When a user asks to see data or to retrieve a file, although the data may be located in many different locations (its physical location) it is presented as one piece which is the logical view.

Logical bomb - a program that without the knowledge or permission of the user alters how a computer behaves that is set to execute its code when a given condition, often a date, is met. Analogous to a time bomb.

Logical structure - the way something looks to the user. For example, a file looks like it is stored in one place when its physical structure is often that parts of it are stored in several different places.

Login - to enter information that allows a network or computer to identify you as an approved user. Usually consists of a user ID and a password. May be referred to as logging in. The opposite is to logout.

Login Name - see user Id

LOINC - Logical Observations: Identifiers, Names, Codes. A system developed by the Regensteif Institute in Indianapolis to standardize data for laboratory tests. Now also standardizes assessment data.

Look-p List or Table - a predetermined list of entries that will be allowed in a field in a database. The user then selects one of the entries by clicking on it.

LOS - acronym for length of stay used in healthcare institutions.

Lurkers - individuals who belong to a mailing list who read the messages, but do not post. Also refers to those who read the same news group routinely, but do not post.

Machine language - the lowest level of computer languages and the only language understood by computers. All programs are translated to machine language before they will run in a process called compiling. Machine language is binary, that is, it consists of only zeros and ones. Every type of CPU has its own unique machine language making it necessary for different programs to be written for each CPU. The Java language avoids this necessity because it is written to be compiled as it is run while programs in other languages are compiled before they are distributed. See computer languages.

Macro - a small program that automates a function for an application program. Although many of these ship with a program, im many applications users can create their own by either recording keystrokes or writing the commands using the language that the application program provides (This is usually very similar to the Basic language.). For example, if you repeatedly need to place selected text in a redline format you would select the text, then record your keystrokes as you went through the steps. Then you could edit the tool bar and place the macro on it so you would only need to click it the next time you wished to redline selected text. Or, you could name it using a combination of keys, such as Ctrl-Shift 8 in which case tapping those keys would activate the macro.

Macro virus - a virus that attacks through a macro embedded in a file created with an application program such as a word processing or spreadsheet. Refuse to activate a macro on file received as a file attachment unless you are 100% certain that the macro is not a virus.

Mail merge - a process in word processors in which data from one file that is organized as database is merged with a form that has places for fields from that data.

Mailing list group - a group of people who all receive all postings (email) directed to the group. Groups are organized around specific topics in which all are interested. To become a member, one subscribes to the group (subscriptions are free).

Mainframes - A very large computer that is capable of supporting hundreds, or even thousands, of users simultaneously. Were the original computers.

Malignant virus - a computer virus that is intended to do harm to a computer. All viruses, even those designed to be benign, can be malignant.

Map - to “match” a term in one standardized terminology with one in another that has essentially the same meaning. Often not an exact match.

MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging) - A universal record format for bibliographic records.

Markup Language - A computer language that surrounds text with beginning and ending tags, typically set off in angle brackets.

Mashup -The compounding (“mashing”) of two or more pieces of complementing web functionalities to create a powerful web application. Examples include superimposing epidemiological information on a map.

Master table - in a relational database the table that is the core of the database. It is the table that contains the data around which a report revolves. It is the table that contains one, but never more than one, match for each record in another table. For example, if you build a relational database focusing on clients, the master table will be the demographic data about the client. The child or detail tables will be those that contain other information that will be related back to the demographic table. May also be called the parent table.

MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS®)

MEDLINE ® (MEDlars onLINE) - the NLM online database indexing medical journal articles.

MEDLINE - an NLM bibliographic index for medical subjects. It was the first true database for medical literature. Records begin with 1966 journals, with experimental records from 1964 and 1965 now available as OLDMEDLINE.

Megabit - one million bits (not bytes!). A bit is 1/8th of a byte.

Megabits per second - measurement of the speed of the transfer of data. Is equal to 125,000 bytes. Abbreviated Mbit or Mb (note lower case b).

Megabyte - one million bytes (See byte.) Abbreviated MB (upper case B). When used as megabyte per second, it is equivalent to 1,000,000 bytes per second.

Megahertz - - One million hertzes, or one million cycles of electricity through a circuit per second. Often used to measure the clock speed of a processor. More powerful computers measure this in gigahertzs (One billion hertzes). The clock speed determines how often a pulse of electricity “cycles”through the circuits, hence how fast information is processed. The more cycles, the greater the processing speed. One MHZ represents one million “cycles” per second, hence a 66 MHZ computer processes 66 million cycles per second. A 120 MHZ computer will process 120 million cycles a second. Larger computers now measure speed in gigahertzs.

Megapixel - one million pixels. You will see the term when the resolution of a graphics device such as a scanner or digital camera is discussed.

Megs - abbreviation for megabyte

Menu tab - a tab on the top of a window which when clicked will reveal other options.

MeSH - Medical Subject Headings

Meta-searcher - a search tool that searches the index of many search tools and returns sites from all of them. May be helpful for topics for which there is very little information.

MHZ - see megahertz.

Microcomputer - a small computer, intended for one individual. Although it can be networked and serve as a “dumb terminal,” it is also capable of running applications on its own. Microcomputers, depending on their size, can be further divided into desktop computers, laptops, notebooks, palmtops, or handhelds.

Microprocessor - A silicon chip that contains a processing unit that controls the device. They come in many sizes from one in a watch to a large computer.

Minicomputer - an old term that designated a computer that was between a microcomputer and a mainframe in size. Today this term is not used much.

Minimum Data Set - a designated set of data which will meet the needs of a given group. May or may not include the terms to be used to collect the data.

MMx - This designation for a microprocessor chip indicates that a set of 57 multimedia instructions are built into it. These chips permit the computer into which they are installed to play any software program written to the MMx specification without the addition of a separate sound or video card.

Modem - A device that allows a computer to send data over telephone lines. It is an acronym for Modem-Demodulator. It converts a computer’s digital signal to the analog signal used by telephone lines.

Monitor - the box that contains the screen on which you see computer output. Monitors can be monochrome, gray scale or color. Quality is indicated by the number of times they are “refreshed” each second, that is how many times the screen is redrawn. If the refresh rate is too low, the monitor will flicker. The size of a monitor screen is measured diagonally.

Monoaxial taxonomy - a taxonomy organized around just one concept or axis.

MOOs (Multi-object Oriented ) - a program that creates a virtual environment in which users assume a character and walk about examining objects on their walk. Users will give commands such as go north, the computer will tell the user what s/he sees. If the computer says that the users sees a wallet, the user may again say go north, or may say pick up the wallet. Starting as dungeons and dragons game their use has spread to education. As graphical MOO environments are created they will find more use.

Motherboard - A component of a personal computer that is the main circuit board. Attached to it are the CPU, BIOS, memory, mass storage interfaces, serial and parallel ports, expansion slots, and all the controllers required to control peripheral devices, such as the display screen, keyboard, and disk drive as well as connectors for attaching additional boards. On many PCs it is possible to replace this component to upgrade to a faster computer.

Mouse - a peripheral device connected to the computer, that when moved, moves a pointer on the screen. The screen pointer is positioned over a selection at which time the user depresses and releases the left mouse button, a procedure called clicking the mouse. When the left mouse button is held down the selected object can be dragged to another location.

Moving - in Lewin’s theory of change, the time when equilibrium between driving and restraining forces have been upset and there is a movement. It may be either toward a change or away from it.

MS Windows™ - an operating system from Microsoft. It is a GUI interface using point and click to carry out commands. First introduced in 1985, it was quirky. It was 1990 with the release of Windows 3.1 that this became popular.

Multiaxial taxonomy - a taxonomy that uses terms on more than one axis to create a term describing the phenomenon.

Multi-tasking - in computer terminology, having more than one application open at the same time.

Multimedia - A computer program that integrates text, graphics, video, animation, and sound. Although envisioned very early in the evolution of computers, they were uncommon until the mid 1990's when computing power sufficient to facilitate their use became available at a price affordable by the general public. Due to their large size, they are commonly distributed on a CD.

NANDA - North American Nursing Diagnoses Association, International. Commonly used to designate standardized terms for nursing diagnosis.

Nanosecond - one billionth (1,000,000,000) of a second, abbreviated ns.

National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII). A proposed framework of integrated communications that will link health improvements and information technologies. It is hoped that it will eventually encompass databases, the written word, audio and video to provide a dynamic web of information to promote healthcare {, 2004 #337}. The objective is to help health care decision makers, providers, and patients in all settings to access health information

National League for Nursing (NLN)

National Library of Medicine - a governmental institution with the mission of making the knowledge derived from biomedical research accessible to all health professionals. Navigation Bar - A set of buttons or graphic images often in a row or column that provide links to major topic sections on a Web site. May also be an image bar. (Chapter 15)

NCQA - National Committee for Quality Assurance. This is a private, not-for-profit organization founded in 1990 that is dedicated to improving health quality {NCQA Organization, 2007 #1602}. The NCQA seal is a widely recognized symbol of quality.
is a private, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. Since its founding in 1990, NCQA has been a central figure in driving improvement throughout the health care system, helping to elevate the issue of health care quality to the top of the national agenda.

NCVHS - National Committee of Vital and Health Statistics

NDC - National Drug Code

Negative tilt - a position of a keyboard in which the top row of keys is lower than the bottom row. The opposite is a postive tilt in which the bottom row is lower than the top row. Typewriters has a positive tilt, an ergonomically incorrect wrist position, that was designed into computer keyboards with the use of extendible legs at the far end of the keyboard. When a keyboard is positioned properly these legs are not extended and a small object such as a wrist rest is used to raise the near end of the keyboard.

Net neutrality - the principle that all Internet users should be treated equally in terms of downloading information whether it is a small file, or a large one. This principle has been in effect since the start of the Internet and has led to its phenomenal growth. To alleviate the traffic jams that are developing on the Internet, broadband carriers want to determine which content is delivered the fastest thus altering the principle.

Network - an connection of computer hardware and software that allows communication between computers.

Network Database - a database model that improved on the hierarchical database model by making it possible for relationships to exist between levels.

News group - See Usenet News

NHII - National Health Information Infrastructure

NIC - see Nursing Intervention Classification

NIDSEC - Nursing Information and Data Set Evaluation Center. An ANA committee to evaluate the use of nursing terminologies recognized by the ANA CNPII committee in vendor products.

NIH - National Institute of Health

NII - National Information Infrastructure - see information superhighwayNIWG - Nursing Informatics Working Group (from AMIA)

NLM - see National Library of Medicine

NMDS (Or NMD) - Nursing Minimum Data Set. A list of 16 pieces of data that if collected on all patients cared for by nurses would make possible the comparison of data from different settings and different regions. It is composed of elements in three categories, nursing care, client demographics and service.

NMMDS - Nursing Management Minimum Data Set. A modification of the NMDS for nurses in management.

NNN - a term sometimes used to designate a combination of NANDA, NIC and NOC.

NOC - see Nursing Outcomes Classification

Nodes - 1) a computer that is connected to a network. 2) a piece of hardware that sends wireless signals. Often used to repeat signals so the wireless network can be accessed in different areas.

Non-interlaced - a monitor that is not interlaced. See interlaced

Normalized - a database in which there is no duplication of data. The process of arriving at this design is called normalization. Accomplishing this usually involves creating two or more tables related by at least one common field.

Nosology - the science of systematically classifying diseases.

Notebook computer - a microcomputer that is small enough to fit into a briefcase.

NSF - National Science Foundation

NSFNET - National Science Foundation NetworkNursing informatics - a subspeciality in healthcare informatics and nursing that focuses on defining, acquiring, manipulating, storing, and retrieving data that is essential in providing safe and quality nursing care.

Nursing Intervention Classification - an classification scheme for standardizing the language for nursing interventions.

Nursing Management Minimum Data Set - a modification of the NMDS for nurses in management.

Nursing Minimum Data Set - the minimum set of nursing data necessary to compare nursing data across different settings and geographical areas.

Nursing Outcomes Classification - a classification scheme that standardizes the language for nursing outcomes.

Nursing Intervention Lexicon and Taxonomy - a system being developed that will permit the computerization of the natural language that nurses use to describe nursing interventions.

Nursing informatics - the management of nursing data based on a combination of the fields of information science, computer science and nursing science.

Object - To a computer, any entity that it can manipulate. In word processing this can include items such as a letter, word, sentence, paragraph, picture, part of a document or the entire document. In graphical programs an object is the item selected which can be an image, part of an image, or everything on the screen, or text. In a spreadsheet, an object is a cell, group of cells, chart, or anything selected on the screen. Databases regard individual entries, fields, records, and the various parts and wholes such as tables, forms and reports that display data as objects. Objects can be nested, that is a word can be an object nested within a sentence object which can be nested within a paragraph object. Treating things as objects allows properties to be applied to an entire piece rather than having to apply them to each piece of an object.

OCLC - Online Computer Library Center, Inc. - a nonprofit, membership, library computer service and research organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the world’s information and reducing information costs. It maintains a database of the cataloging records for all its member libraries, which serves as the foundation for interlibrary resource sharing between member libraries.

OCR - see optical character recognition

Office suite - a group of desktop application programs consisting of a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation package from one vendor that are designed to work well together. Relational databases may be included in the professional version, or as a generic part of the package.

Omaha System - a system for computerizing nursing problems, interventions and outcomes for community based practice. Online - directly connected to a computer, for example a printer is online when ready to receive information to print. Also used to signify a connection between a computer and another computer or network, or to describe the condition when a computer is connected to the Internet. (Chapter 14)

Online Analytic Processing - a sophisticated process of analyzing a relational database.

Online documentation - information helpful in learning how to perform a function in a computer program that is available by clicking on help on the menu line (or in non-graphics programs, by tapping a given key).

Online journal - a term too often used to denote any journal with a Web presence. This presence may be only an advertisement, or may include a table of contents and even a few articles. A true online journal is published only on the Web and features full text articles.

Ontology - A formal description of the concepts and relationships in a domain. In more pragmatic terms, when an ontology is developed for a given domain it defines the vocabulary used in queries and assertions. A commitment to a common ontology guarantees consistency, but not completeness.

OPAC - Online Public Access Catalog

Open source software - software for which the code is made available free of charge with the thought that many different programmers will improve the code and make the program more useful.Operating system - the most important program on a computer. It performs tasks such as recognizing keyboard input, sending output to the screen, locating files and controlling peripherals such as disk drives and the printer. All programs run “on top of” the operating system. PCs generally use the Windows (Vista or XP) operating system or an open source program Linux. The Apple Mac uses different operating systems which is why programs that work on a PC do not work on an Apple Mac and vice versa. The Apple Mac may be capable of using both Windows and an Apple Mac operating system.

Optical character recognition (OCR) - the process that converts print to a computerized form that can be manipulated by a computer. It requires software which identifies the individual image of each character and translates it to an keyboard character. Few are 100% accurate and a good proofing of the result is usually necessary.

Optical disks - A secondary storage medium in which data is read and written using a laser. They can store huge amounts of data, measured in gigabytes.

OPSN - A medical diagnosis is an “outcome potentially sensitive to nursing” and is thought to measure the contributions of nurses in providing inpatient care.

Outline feature - a feature in word processors that will automatically “number” and renumber lines or paragraphs when one is moved. Regular text can be written below each outline point.Output - in general systems theory, information or results from the processing of data. In a computer system, the output from data that has been entered, stored, manipulated, and presented by the computer.

Outdented paragraph - see hanging paragraph.

Overtype - when text that is entered replaces the existing text in that space.

Page Description Language (PDL) - a programming language for printers. The two standards are PCL (Printer Control Language) and Postscript. They are used to control the page output of a laser printer. Advertisements may state that a computer is compatible with PCL (The Hewlett Packard- HP) standard, but not accept any HP cartridges. When a PDL is used, the processing of printing is done by the printer which frees the computer from the time and resource consuming task of formatting the page.

Page Description Format (pdf) - a type of file that can be downloaded from the Web and viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. This format is best reserved for files that require a specific layout such as a form. Many search tools cannot locate these files.

Palm operating system - a proprietary operating system used on the Palm PDA.

Parallel port - a connection on older computers used to connect peripherals to a computer. Printers often used this connection. Technically the connection on the cable was a BD-25 and had 25 pins.

Parent table - see master table

Pascal - a high level computer language named for Blaise Pascal.

Password - a combination of upper and lower case letters and numbers used to authenticate a user to a system. The best passwords involve a combination of letters and numbers in a manner that a word is not formed. E.g. “Sec9uR7ity.”

Path name - the full name of the path to a file or folder. It starts with the name of the disk and a colon and a backward slash. For example, the path name of a file named Issues that was created by Corel Word Perfect ™ saved on the A drive would be “a:\Issues.wpd.”

Patient Care Data Set - a data dictionary being developed for clinical terms used in acute care settings by nurses and other non-physician health care disciplines that can be used to record patient problems, patient care actions, and expected patient outcomes.Patient Portal - A portal specific to an individualize that is tied to the patient’s electronic health record. A patient portal may only offer one way communication to a patient, but the information will be specific to that patient. For example, prenatal information would be targeted by the month or week of pregnancy.

Peer-to-peer network - a peer-to-peer (P2P) network is created when two or more PCs are connected and share resources without going through a separate server computer.

Personal health record - a forerunner of the ePHR in which a consumer has access to the EMR of an agency or healthcare provider.

PITAC - President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee

Pharming - - hacking into a DNS router by malicious people and changing the IP address for legitimate Web sites to one that pretends to be the real site. Users being unaware that they are not at the legitimate site may enter personal information that is used maliciously.

Phishing - a trick used to entice people to access a Web site designed to look like a legitimate site and enter information that can be used to steal identities, bank accounts or use credit cards not their own. These URLs will be embedded into an email message; the address looks legitimate, but if you check the lower left corner of the screen while your mouse pointer is on the supposed URL, you will see where you will actually be taken if you click on the URL.

Point and Click - the process of moving a mouse pointer to a desired command and clicking the left mouse button to select that command.

POMR - problem-oriented medical recordPortal - any web site that offers a wide array of resources and services such as email, forums, a search tool, and links to useful sites. It is the blending of all Internet tools into one useful service. Generally a portal is targeted at a specific population such as professionals in a discipline, healthcare consumers with a specific medical condition, those looking for either general or specific health information, or shoppers for specific products such as baby products. (Chapter 15)

PCDS - see Patient Care Data Set

PDL - see page description language

PDF - see page description format

Peripheral- An external device attached to a computer. Examples of peripherals include printers, zip or jaz drives, scanners, display monitors, keyboards, and mice.

Personal bibliographic reference managers - a software program that facilitates downloading the results of bibliographic searches for the purpose of developing your own searchable personal bibliographic databases. They usually includes the standard bibliographic fields, plus a notes field for adding comments. They also allow you to output bibliographies formatted according to the needed publication format, such as APA or MLA Style Some now permit the additions of WWW sites to the database.

Personal Computer (PC). A computer designed for an individual user. Compared to mainframes and minicomputers they are relatively inexpensive. Prices range from $500 to over $5000 depending on the processor, amount of RAM and other add-ons.

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) - a small hand held device that combines computing, telephone/fax, and networking features. In the past most use a stylus rather than a keyboard for inputting data or a graphical shorthand. Today folding keyboards are available for them. Some also incorporate voice input and output. Besides providing personal information management capabilities, new ones provide access to reference tools, electronic textbooks, and clinical computational programs. They can exchange data with notebooks and desktops.Personal health record (PHR) - a system that allows a person to access all their electronic health records from any location. It requires that the healthcare providers and agencies where there electronic records are to have electronic patient records and for these records to be accessible from an electronic health record system. (Chapter 14)Personal identifier - See unique personal identifier

Personal information manager - The category is fuzzy, but it is a type of software designed to facilitate the management of personal information such as addresses or dates. Often used with personal digital assistant computers. (Chapter 14)

Petabyte - more than 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes (See Byte)

Physical - the way things actually are. For example, data may be stored physically in many different files, its physical view, but brought together in one location for viewing by a user. The latter is the logical view of the data.

PIM - see personal information managerPIN - personal information number. A number either assigned, or created by a user that allows the user access to a system. They are used in bank accounts, computer accounts, and Web pages. (Chapter 14)

Pixel - a term that means picture element. A pixel is the smallest part of a computer image. A screen image is made up of many vertical and horizontal pixels which are often referred to as dots, although they are square. The more pixels in a given space, the smaller the pixel and hence the better the image. The number of pixels that a monitor is capable of displaying is its resolution. Because images on a screen are created by vertical and horizontal dots, a circle on a screen may not be seen as completely round when the size of the pixels used to create the circle is not large enough to fool the eye into seeing a round shape.

Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) - An Internet connection that is used by dialing the number of the Internet Service Provider. POTS lines are restricted to a transfer rate of 56.6 kilobits per second to the computer (about 700 characters per second). May be referred to as dial-up.

Plotter - A device that is interfaced with a computer and draws (plots) pictures on paper based on commands a user gives the computer usually through a computer aided design (CAD) program.

Plug and play - the ability to attach a device to a computer and have it work without the hassle of changing settings because this is accomplished automatically by the computer.Plug-in - hardware or software that adds a feature to another system. Often used to denote helper applications for web browsers, for example, to read PDF files requires a plug-in known as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Some moving pictures also require plug-ins before they are usable. Other plug-ins include Real Player, Apple Quick Time or Shockwave. All can be downloaded from the Internet for free. When properly set up, a plug-in automatically starts operating when it is needed.

Plug-in - a computer program that interacts with another program, usually a Web browser to allow content to be seen. Examples are Abobe Acrobat Reader™ and Adobe Flash Player™. These programs are usually freely available for download on the Web.

a computer program that interacts with a host application (a web browser or an email client, for example) to provide a certain, usually very specific, function "on demand".

PNDS - perioperative nursing data set. Developed and maintained by the American Operating Room Nurses, a standardized terminology that was developed to make visible the contributions of nurses in the operating room. Has since grown to encompass the entire peri-operative period.

Podcast - a digital audio file made available on the Web. These files are downloaded, and can be played with special software on a computer such as Microsoft’s Windows Media Player®, or another piece of hardware such as an MP3 player. Although technically only audio, has started to be used to include vodcasts, or digital video downloads that are played the same way as a podcast. See vodcast.

Point and click - moving the mouse pointer to an object and left clicking with the mouse pointer on that object.

Point size - size a character of text will be when printed. A point is about 1/72nd of an inch. The most commonly used point size in computer documents is 10 or 12 points. Transparencies should never have a point size less than 18 points and the point size on computer or 35 mm slides should be 24 points or more.

Point of Care (POC) - the place where the care is done. The best way to capture data is at the point of care, that is, input devices of some sort should be available to care givers at the scene of the care.

POMR - see Problem Oriented Medical Record

POP3 (Post Office Protocol) - a standard protocol for receiving e-mail. It is a client/server protocol in which e-mail is received and held for you by your Internet server.

Pop-up window - a menu that “pops up” when an object is selected and a button clicked (On a PC this is the right mouse button.). They may also appear when a selection on a menu followed by an ellipsis (...) is clicked. May be a dialog box. Also a window that appears in a Web browser. Often shows an advertisement. For this reason, pop-up windows in Web applications have acquired a bad reputation and software is available to block these.

Port - a connector on a computer that can be used to connect a cable to another device. Ports can be serial or parallel, USB (universal serial bus) or Firewire. Also a term used to denote a physical device for transmitting data over networks.

Portal - a web site that offers a wide array of resources and services such as email, forums, a search tool, and links to useful sites.

Portrait orientation - the term given to the position of paper when the narrow sides are on the top and bottom. This is the default layout for word processors. See landscape orientation.

POTS - see plain old telephone service

Progressive disclosure - the revealing of points on a slide or overhead, one at a time to conincide with the oral presentation.

PROMIS - PRoblem Oriented Medical Information System

PPRC - Physician Payment Reform Commission.

Primary data use - using data for the purpose that it was collected.

Print Screen Key - a key that when tapped will place a copy of the entire screen on the clipboard from where it can be pasted into any application that will accept a graphical object.

Printed circuit board - a thin, rectangular plate, often called a card, on which chips and other electronic components are placed. There are many different types such as a motherboard, an expansion board and a network card.

Printer - a device that prints output from a computer. There are many different brands, each of which requires a specific driver to properly operate. (See driver) Privacy -The rights of individual people to decide when, where, and how information about themselves will be communicated to others. The prevention of disclosure of information from a patient. (Chapter 14)

PRO - Professional Review Organization

Process interoperability - the coordination of work processes. It has been referred to as workflow management and is related to integrating computer systems into work settings. It includes such considerations as a user-friendly system and effectiveness in actual use.

Problem Oriented Medical Record (POMR) - a multi-disciplinary medical record that is organized by the client’s problems with all disciplines charting in the same place for each problem. Most patient records today are organized by discipline.

Programmer - an individual who writes the code that creates software applications.

Programming languages - see computer languages

Prolog - a third level computer language used in expert systems and artificial intelligence.

PROMIS - a computer system devised by Dr. Larry Weed and associates at the University of Vermont in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Properties - features of an object (word, picture, document) that can be applied to that object. Some examples for a letter or word are color, size, font, while those for a page are margins, layout (portrait or landscape), and those for a graphic include the size, and its position in a document. In databases and spreadsheets, besides properties for words etc. the properties include behaviors, or programmed actions that will be taken under specific situations. A list of available properties is often seen when a user right clicks on the object.

Protocol - an agreed upon format for a procedure. In computer terminology it often refers to methods for exchanging data between two devices. It includes standards for the type of error checking, data compression if used, how the originating machine will indicate that it has completed sending, and how the receiving machine will indicate that it has received the message.

Public domain software - software that is freely available and is NOT copyrighted, thus can be used without restrictions.

Pull - The usual WWW technology in which users request information such as a Web page. See push.

Push - a method used in client/server applications of delivering computerized information. Under this system recipients give the sender guidelines for the types of information which they want forwarded to them. When information meets the guidelines it is automatically sent to the individual. Push may be very selective in the guidelines that a user speci