POPLHLTH 303 : Health Informatics

Medical and Health Sciences

2025 Semester One (1253) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Students will explore the development and management of information systems in contemporary New Zealand healthcare services. Health informatics concepts, conceptualised in different healthcare settings, are critically reviewed in terms of their practical application.

Course Overview

The course is divided into two sections - foundations of health informatics and application of health informatics principles. In this course you'll learn about the health informatics language (jargon), the Electronic Health Record, its function and structure, its role in clinical care, and how the data that's collected can inform population health programmes. To contextualise your learning, you'll hear about strategies and governance, health care at a distance (aka telehealth), big data, artificial intelligence, evaluation, privacy and confidentiality and security, knowledge management, and innovation and change.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: POPLHLTH 101, 202

Course Contacts

Course Director: Dr Karen Day. k.day@auckland.ac.nz 

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: People and Place
Capability 2: Sustainability
Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration
Capability 8: Ethics and Professionalism

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Critically review what constitutes an electronic medico-legal record and its implications on the delivery of clinical care (Capability 2.2, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.1, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3)
  2. Create a health informatics innovation in response to a problem you have identified (Capability 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 7.1, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3)
  3. Evaluate the theory and practice of health informatics principles in specific settings (Capability 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Essay 30% Individual Coursework
Essay 30% Individual Coursework
Final Exam 40% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3
Essay
Essay
Final Exam

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect two one-hour lectures a week, a one-hour tutorial per week, three hours of reading and thinking about the content and four hours of work on assignments and/or exam preparation. The reading, thinking and assignment preparation hours may vary depending on assignment/exam deadlines and your familiarity with the topic of the week. 

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at lectures and tutorials.
Lectures will be available as recordings for those who need to listen again, and for those who are unable to attend lectures. Other learning activities including tutorials will not be available as recordings. Please note that all lectures will include in-class discussions that will not be recorded. Therefore, to get the most out of this course, you will need to attend the lectures and tutorials. 
Some of the lecture content will be available for preview prior to lectures to set you up for a richer discussion during lecture times. 

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

There is no prescribed text book. Please refer to the readings list for weekly reading, and (via the university library) find additional reading of interest to you or that could be useful in your assignments. 

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

If you have feedback that can result in an immediate change, please contact the class rep, or the course tutor or course director. 

Students of 2024 appreciated the in-class discussions and the two Conversation Salons for deeper learning. Assignment deadlines across all courses creates a workload peak at certain times during the semester, resulting in few students attending lectures and tutorials as the semester progresses. We continue to work on pacing the assignment workload so that these peaks are reduced and students can benefit more from attendance. The business case assignment (assignment 2) has been changed to a poster with the same purpose of identifying a problem and proposing an innovative solution, which has reduced the workload for this assignment's preparation. We strongly recommend that you attend lectures, which could in turn reduce your assignment preparation workload. 

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework, tests and examinations as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against electronic source material using computerised detection mechanisms. Upon reasonable request, students may be required to provide an electronic version of their work for computerised review.

All assignments are to be submitted in Canvas and will be marked electronically. All assignments will be checked for academic integrity. 

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Please email Dr Day at k.day@auckland.ac.nz if you need to request an extension for an assignment deadline. 

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.