Psychiatric epidemiology and information technology

Psychiatric epidemiology addresses issues of mental disorders in populations by gathering data and using analytic methods to observe patterns of associations. Computers and information technology now provide increasingly powerful tools to assist in this process. Clinical activities represent an enormous resource for psychiatric epidemiology, and the concepts and methods of psychiatric epidemiology are also a resource for clinicians. These two areas are relatively inaccessible to each other, although benefits of linking research methods to clinical activities are logically apparent. Computers and information technology can make this integration feasible. Growing demands for greater efficiency and higher quality medical care are likely to motivate these developments, and it is hoped that the information that is generated will contribute to advancing scientific knowledge. Although not discussed above, integration of patients into active participation in these information processes is another important objective.