Book excerpt: Health information systems are now widely used around the world to raise the quality of healthcare, reduce medical error rates and improve access to health information and services, and health informatics is now recognized as a separate and unique area of disciplinary study and professional practice. This book presents the proceedings of the 2011 Information Technology and Communications in Health (ITCH) conference, in Victoria, BC, Canada in February 2011. Health informatics issues are not unique to one country or one organization and with its theme of International Perspectives, this conference provides a unique opportunity to share the lessons learned by both developed and developing countries. Effective use of scarce healthcare resources, ensuring the long-term sustainability of healthcare systems and moving the science of health informatics forward are discussed, and the conference also addresses key issues at the intersection of technology and healthcare such as; privacy, ethics, patient safety, efficiency and effectiveness, which are common to healthcare providers worldwide. The improvement of healthcare systems which employ health informatics technology is dependent upon such international exchanges and solution-sharing, and this book will be of interest to all those involved in providing better healthcare worldwide.