[Edu-sig] Re: Programming for non-programmer IT professionals

[Kirby Urner]

Thanks for the tip.  Here's the Amazon URL:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201895420/

It'd be fun to swap course outlines or lesson plans showing
how Python might integrate more tightly into medical 
informatics.

In my own work, I'm exploring the potential links between
HCL and XML.  How could we describe our patient-encounter-
procedure-subprocedure model in XML, or would that be the
best way to go?  Having a patient-centric view, with both
linear/temporal and current data is one way we want to 
present info.  An aggregate/statistical view, with patients
sorted by demographic attributes (for example) is another.
These are the generic sorts of problems that lots and lots
of people are working on, in many different ways.

Links:

http://puck.informatik.med.uni-giessen.de/people/messaritakis/hl7xml/
http://www.infoloom.com/gcaconfs/WEB/philadelphia99/alschuler.HTM
http://www.info.dsdc.dla.mil/Partners/HL7.html
http://medicine.ucsd.edu/f99/D005484.htm

I haven't done anything with Python in this area (yet) and 
would be interested in seeing what others might be doing 
along these lines.  Curriculum writing which spells out 
aspects of HL7-XML integration, using Python as a teaching
language, would I think be a useful component in medical 
informatics (using Python Standard Library XML features,
plus 3rd party enhancements).

One idea here is to anticipate the new and existing component 
architectures wherein Python modules will be able to 
participate in harmony with other components written in
other languages (COM, .NET etc -- I gather from reading 
the Python stuff that there's quite a bit of interest in 
getting .NET and Python working together).

See: http://www.microsoft.com/net/default.asp for more on
the .NET thing.

Kirby

At 09:47 AM 11/17/2000 -0800, Dethe Elza wrote:
>Kirby & Jim,
>
>When analyzing data like you're talking about, you might want to check out
>Martin Fowler's "Analysis Patterns : Reusable Object Models."  Many of his
>examples are drawn from health care, and there's a lot of good stuff.  ISBN
>0201895420.
>
>--Dethe
>
>Dethe Elza
>Antarcti.ca Client Lead
>http://antarcti.ca
>http://map.net