Informatics Group

What is the Informatics Group?

The FCM Informatics Group is a team of professionals with technical expertise across multiple areas such as database design and management; web development; graphic design; video production; and systems administration and support. To learn more about the individuals who make up the team and their roles, please see the Informatics Group staff page.

The Informatics Group has extensive experience building study participant/protocol tracking systems; web and scannable paper-based questionnaires and databases; marketing and recruitment materials; and web-based training delivery systems with video. We are the primary development team for FCM faculty and their projects, and are happy and able to work for anyone in the university community needing our services.

In addition to development services, the IG provides the daily computing and technology support for FCM faculty and staff, including the procurement, deployment, maintenance and troubleshooting of all systems and servers. For computing help or more information about our support services, please visit our Help Desk page.

Absolutely! We are working on assembling an online portfolio to show off our work -- but until then, please contact the IG director, Steve Machtley, to schedule a time to see some of the work the IG has completed.

How is the group funded?

Informatics Group personnel are funded by working on projects using individualized hourly billing rates that account for salary, benefits, equipment and software refresh costs. We only charge for actual time spent working on projects and invoice on a monthly basis.

The IG can work on and is always interested in bidding on projects from any UA or outside group. Please contact the director, Steve Machtley, for more information.

Why does the group exist?

As an academic department of family medicine, FCM recognizes that the control and management of information is critical to its research, clinical, and teaching missions. For this reason, the department established the Informatics Group to ensure that its academic functions are appropriately integrated with the technology of information management. Having a centralized group promotes stable employment and allows the department to grow an experienced team of informatics professionals for FCM investigators and their projects.

What does the Informatics Group do for FCM?

• As part of the research team, formulates the information technology needs for grant submission, participates in the development and implementation of all information needs, including data collection, storage, security, reporting, and analysis.
• As part of the clinical team, develops management of clinical data for quality improvement projects.
• As part of the teaching mission, works collaboratively with faculty to develop technology based curricular elements and class management systems.
• Maintains close working relationships with faculty and staff to ensure a high level of security, efficiency, and professionalism in the maintenance of FCM electronic information systems and computers.
• Maintains servers and computers in a consistent manner, complying with applicable policies and standards to ensure security and integrity of information.

 Mission Statement

Apply the disciplines of medicine, public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, and computer science to effectively achieve the organization, management, analysis, and use of information in support of clinical practice and patient care, research in biomedicine, clinical medicine, and public health, and in teaching, administration, and formulation of health policy.