Lesson 1: Computer 101

Health Informatics – the application of technology tools and information systems in a healthcare
setting or context

Tools in Health Information Technology Systems in Health Information Management

 Computers  Records
 Hardware  Coding
 Software  Documentation
 Networking  Policy
 Programming  Guidelines
 Data storage  Administration
 Security  Compliance

Types of Computers
 Supercomputers
 Mainframes
 Minicomputers
 Microcomputers

Microcomputer Mini Computer Mainframe Computer

Year introduced 1970 1960 1975
Number of 1 2 or more Multiple
Processors
Storage capacity GB TB PB
Memory MB GB GB
Number of Users 1 user at a time Two to thousands users Hundreds to thousands
at a time connected users at a
time
Size Very small Bigger than Bigger than micro and
microcomputer mini computers
Price $500 to $5000 $18000 to $500000 $500000 to $5 million
Can be used at Home, offices and Business institutes and Large organizations
educational institutes departments like banks
Examples IBM-PC and Apple VAX-8800 and MV- IBM-370 and NEC
Macintosh 1500

Computer – is an electronic machine that Data – is a collection of independent and

follows a set of instructions in order that it may unorganized facts
be able to accept and gather data and transform
these into information Data Processing – is the course of doing things
in a sequence of steps
Information – is the processed and organized
data presented in a meaningful form
Functions of an Information Processing
System
 Input – accepts and gather data
 Processing – process data to become
information
 Store – stores data and information
 Output – presents information
Bit – is a unit of information equivalent to the
result of a choice between only 2 possible
alternatives in the binary number system
Byte – is a sequence of 8 bits (enough to
represent one character of alphanumeric data)
processed as a single unit for information
A byte can be used to represent a single
character, which can be:
 A letter
 A number
 A special character or symbol
 A space

Decimal Decimal Decimal Decimal Value Binary Binary Binary Binary Value
Name Abbr. Power Name Abbr. Power
Kilobyte Kb 10^3 1,000 Kibibyte KiB 2^10 1,024
Megabyte MB 10^6 1,000,000 Mebibyte MiB 2^20 1,048,576
Gigabyte GB 10^9 1,000,000,000 Gigibyte GiB 2^30 1,073,741,824
Terabyte TB 10^12 1,000,000,000,000 Tebibyte TiB 2^40 1,099,511,627,776

Major components of an Information

Processing System Read Only Memory (ROM) – non-volatile
 Hardware – is the tangible part of a memory
computer system
 Software – is the non-tangible part that Random Access Memory (RAM) – is used to
tells the computer how to do its job store the programs and data that will run; exists
 Peopleware – refer to people who use only when there is power
and operate the computer system, write
computer programs, and analyze and Types of Keyboard
design the information system  Traditional keyboards
 Flexible keyboards
Basic Hardware of a PC System  Ergonomic keyboards
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)  Wireless keyboards
 Memory Unit  PDA keyboards
 Input devices  LASER keyboards
 Output devices
 Secondary Storage Devices Types of Mouse
 Mechanical – type of computer mouse
Central Processing Unit – brain of the that has a rubber or metal ball on its
computer; it directs and controls the entire underside and it can roll in every direction
computer system and performs all arithmetic  Optical – it uses a laser for detecting the
and logical operations mouse’s movement

Memory Unit – where the programs and data

are stored; information is stored permanently
How a Mouse hooks up to a PC?
 PS/2 Mouse
 Serial Mouse
 USB/Cordless Mouse
Other pointing devices
 Trackball
 Trackpoint
 Touch pad
 Touch screen
Joystick – input device for computer games
Light pens – light-sensitive penlike device
Stylus – penlike device commonly used with
tablet Pcs and PDAs
Scanning Devices
 Optical scanners
 Card readers
 Bar code readers
 Character and mark recognition devices
Image Capturing Devices
 Digital cameras
 Digital video cameras
Output Devices
 Media used by the computer in displaying
its responses to our requests and
instructions
 Ex: Monitor, audio speakers, and printer
Types of Monitor
 Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
Types of Printers
 Impact Printers – uses pressure by
physically striking the papers; ex:
Daisywheel printers, line printers, dot
matrix printers and band printers
 Non-impact Printers – does not apply
pressure on the paper but instead
produces character by using lasers, ink
spray, photography or heat
Secondary Storage Devices – attached to the
computer system to allow you to store programs
and data permanently for the purpose of
retrieving them for future use: ex: floppy disk,
hard disk, and CD Rom
Floppy Disk – the most common secondary
storage device
High Capacity Floppy Disk
 Floppy disk cartridges
 3 ½ inches in diameter
 Stores more information
 Zip disks
Hard Disk Drive or Hard Disk
 Made of rigid materials unlike floppy
disks
 Holds a greater amount of data
Optical discs - a standard part of modem
desktop machines, especially used for
multimedia purposes and preferred in loading
applications
Kinds of Disc
 Blue Ray Disk – 40G
 Digital Versatile Disk
o DVD-R – write once; 3.95G
o DVD RW – rewritable; 3G
o Single layer and Double layer
 Compact Disk
o CD-R – write once; 650 MB
o CD-RW – rewritable; 700MB
Other Secondary Storage
 Solid State Storage – no moving parts;
flash memory cards
 USB flash drives
Motherboard – the physical arrangement in a
computer that contains the computer’s basic
circuitry and components
Components of Motherboard Types of system software
 Microprocessor  Operating System – programs that
 Memory coordinate computer resources, provide
 Basic input / Output System (BIOS) an interface between users and the
 Expansion Slot computer; and run applications
 Interconnecting circuitry  Utilities – perform specific tasks related
to managing computer resources
Software  Device drivers –specialized programs
 Instructions that tell the computer how to designed to allow particular input or
process data into the form you want output devices to communicate with the
 Software and programs are rest of the computer system
interchangeable
Command – is the name of a special program
Two kinds of Software that makes your computer carry out a task
 System
 Applications Graphical User Interface (GUI)
 Through GUI, users can interact directly
System Software with the operating system
 Enables the application software to
interact with the computer hardware Application Software
 Managing resources (memory,  Provides the real functionality of a
processing storage, and devices like computer
printer)  It helps you use your computer to do
 Providing user interface specific types of work
 Running applications  Basic applications, widely used in all
career areas
 Specialized applications – more
narrowly focused on specific disciplines
and occupations