By any measure, our field of clinical informatics is poised for rapid growth and
expansion. A confluence of forces and trends, including pressure to contain health
care costs and simultaneously expand access and coverage, a desire to reduce medical
error and health care disparities, the need to better understand and optimize our
clinical interventions and delivery systems, the need to translate new knowledge
into practice quickly and effectively, and the need to demonstrate the value of our
services, all call for the application of the methods and techniques of our field –
some of which are well honed with experience, and some of which are still in the
process of being discovered. Clinical informatics is not the only solution to what
ails health care, but it is a critical component of the solution