Book excerpt: The effective and efficient management of healthcare institutions is key to the successful development of national health systems. In an increasingly digital society, the skills involved in health information management become a primary factor in ensuring this development. Employment is projected to grow in all areas of healthcare, but especially in those related to information management, such as applied informatics, public health informatics and medical informatics. This book, Health Information Management: Empowering Public Health, aims to provide a clear and comprehensive introduction to the study and development of health information management. It is designed for use by university and vocational courses to train allied health professionals. It can also be used as an in-service training tool for new healthcare-facility personnel, for those working in government healthcare institutions, independent billing and health assurance services, or individually by health information specialists. The book describes health information management, and explains how it merges the fields of health care and information technology. Readers will learn logical thinking and communication, and will be introduced to the organizational processes in healthcare institutions, as well as finding out how to organize and analyze health care data; accurately record, store and assess health data; use an electronic patient record system; and provide statistical analysis and interpret the results. The book will be of interest to all those wishing to gain a better insight into what is involved health information management, and to all those studying the subject.