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J Am Med Inform Assoc 1994;1:91-107 doi:10.1136/jamia.1994.95236152
  • The Practice of Informatics
  • Review

The origins of informatics

  1. Morris F Collen
  1. Correspondence and reprints: Morris F. Collen, MD, Division of Research, The Permanente Medical Group, 3451 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611.

    Abstract

    This article summarizes the origins of informatics, which is based on the science, engineering, and technology of computer hardware, software, and communications. In just four decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s,computer technology has progressed from slow, first- generation vacuum tubes, through the invention of the transistor and its incorporation into microprocessor chips, and ultimately, to fast, fourth-generation very-large-scale-integrated silicon chips. Programming has undergone a parallel transformation, from cumbersome, first-generation, machine languages to efficient, fourth-generation application-oriented languages. Communication has evolved from simple copper wires to complex fiberoptic cables in computer-linked networks. The digital computer has profound implications for the development and practice of clinical medicine.

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