Human life has escaped the impact of the Information Age, and perhaps in no area of life is information more critical than in health and medicine. As computers have become available for all aspects of human endeavors, there is now a consensus that a systematic approach to health informatics the acquisition, management, and use of information in health can greatly enhance the quality and efficiency of medical care and the response to widespread public health emergencies. For one thing, medical records today are plagued by mixtures of old technologies (paper) with new ones (computers). And computerized records are often incompatible, using different programs for different kinds of data, even within a given hospital. Sharing information over regional, national, or global networks is further complicated by differences in computer systems and data recording rules. Future systems must be engineered for seamless sharing of data, with built-in guarantees of accurate updating and ways to verify a patient’s identity. For one thing, medical records today are plagued by mixtures of old technologies (paper) with new ones (computers). And computerized records are often incompatible, using different programs for different kinds of data, even within a given hospital. Sharing information over regional, national, or global networks is further complicated by differences in computer systems and data recording rules. Future systems must be engineered for seamless sharing of data, with built-in guarantees of accurate updating and ways to verify a patient’s identity.