Summary

The topics of Advances in Information Technology and Communication in Health, the proceedings of ITCH 2009, include telemedicine and telehealth, electronic health records, software assurance and usability, terminology, classification and standards, software selection and evaluation, research and development initiatives, service administration, management and self-management, nation-wide Canadian initiatives, ethics, policy and government, decision support, artificial intelligence and modeling, software design and development, educational initiatives and professional development and technology adoption and evaluation. In March 1986, a Canadian colloquium with an international flavor was convened to discuss the impact of information technology on community health. It was sponsored by the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria and the British Columbia Ministry of Health. This small, successful gathering was the predecessor of the Information Technology in Community Health (ITCH) conferences that followed in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. In 2007, after a brief hiatus, the conference was held again, but this time it had expanded its scope. It was known as Information Technology and Communications in Health (ITCH) 2007; with the same acronym but with a different meaning as demanded by its international appeal and wider choice of subject areas. The conference in 2007 was an unmatched success and for the conference of 2009, an even more eventful convention is expected, which encourages experts to demonstrate and share their experiences and knowledge. The theme for the ITCH 2009 conference is 'Revolutionizing Health Care with Informatics: From Research to Practice'.