Eric Andrew
Kristof

Healthcare terminology is a collective term for the range from code sets and classifications to nomenclatures and structured vocabularies. This post explains the HIMSS Dictionary definition, then reviews five studies: a Korean survey of 325 professionals that found low knowledge of SNOMED CT and LOINC, a nursing study that mapped 1,271 patient education titles to SNOMED CT with 3.9 percent unmapped, a Dutch framework for maintaining terminologies, a study of junior learners and jargon, and a review of evidence-based healthcare terms.

A patient record is the organized history of a patient’s health kept by a physician, nurse, or other practitioner. This post explains the HIMSS Dictionary definition, then reviews five 2026 studies: a technology acceptance model tested on Germany’s national electronic patient record (ePA) with 149 valid responses, an interview study of 23 users who tried to access the ePA through insurer apps, a FHIR-based research patient record dashboard, an Epic-integrated COPD self-management app co-designed over six improvement cycles, and 45 leader interviews on record implementation and hospital consolidation.

A needs assessment is an organized way to find out what is required to reach a goal, beginning with a gap analysis of the current and desired states. This post explains the HIMSS Dictionary definition, then reviews five 2026 studies: a breast cancer chemotherapy platform built from a needs assessment, a chatbot for postpartum mothers with opioid use disorder based on 12 patient and 11 provider interviews, a generative AI chatbot designed after surveying 511 psychiatric outpatients, an ICU palliative care review, and a clerkship assessment of 42 students.