The document discusses the history and development of health informatics and information systems from the 1950s to present day. It traces the origins of the field back to early experimentation in medicine and the development of software programs that allowed computers to be used for biostatistics. Standards for healthcare data reporting were established in the 1960s, paving the way for electronic health records. Common technologies used today include electronic health records, clinical information systems, and personal health records. The roles, challenges, and evaluation of a new health information system are also overviewed.