What is IMIA

• It is an independent organization established under Swiss law in 1989

• IMIA was originally established in 1967 as Technical Committee 4 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP)

• In 1979, it evolved from a Special Interest Group of IFIP to its current status as a fully independent organization.

• IMIA continues to maintain its relationship with IFIP as an affiliate organization.

• IMIA also has close ties with the World Health Organization (WHO) as a NGO (Non Government Organization)

• IMIA is also a Liaison A category organization in cooperation with ISO.

• promote informatics in health care and research in health, bio and medical informatics.

• advance and nurture international cooperation.

• to stimulate research, development and routine application.

• move informatics from theory into practice in a full

range of health delivery settings, from physician's office

to acute and long term care.

• further the dissemination and exchange of knowledge,

information and technology.

• promote education and responsible behavior.

• represent the medical and health informatics field with

the World Health Organization and other international

professional and governmental organizations.

IMIA's goals are

• moving theory into practice by linking

academic and research informaticians

with care givers, consultants, vendors,

and vendor-based researchers.

• leading the international medical and

health informatics communities

throughout the 21st century.

• promoting the cross-fertilization of health informatics information and knowledge across professional and geographical boundaries.

• serving as the catalyst for ubiquitous worldwide health information infrastructures for patient care and health research.

• to provide ethical guidance for the professionals themselves,

• to furnish a set of principles against which the conduct of the professionals may be measured,

• to provide the public with a clear statement of the ethical considerations that should shape the behavior of the professionals themselves.

Fundamental Ethical Principles

• All social interactions are subject to fundamental ethical principles. HIPs function in a social setting. Consequently, their actions are also subject to these principles. The most important of these principles are:

• Principle of Autonomy

- All persons have a fundamental right to self-determination.

• Principle of Equality and Justice

- All persons are equal as persons and have a right to be treated accordingly.

• Principle of Beneficence

- All persons have a duty to advance the good of others where the nature of this good is in keeping with the fundamental and ethically defensible values of the affected party.

• Principle of Non-Malfeasance

- All persons have a duty to prevent harm to other persons insofar as it lies within their power to do so without undue harm to themselves.

• Principle of Impossibility

- All rights and duties hold subject to the condition that it is possible to meet them under the circumstances that obtain.

• Principle of Integrity

- Whoever has an obligation, has a duty to fulfill that obligation to the best of her or his ability.

““Mother’s love is the fuel Mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.”human being to do the impossible.”