Pathology information systems: data mining leads to knowledge discovery.

Information systems in pathology provide opportunities for pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists to impact both clinical care and modern research agendas. The paradigm shift in health care from individualized care to population-based and standardized delivery systems has created both of these opportunities. In research, pathology information systems can provide key databases for health services research and new informatics-based approaches to database research. The latter is characterized by utilization of pathology databases for data mining to discover new patterns that provide new knowledge. The multidisciplinary knowledge discovery and data mining program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham focuses on this health care application, which has the potential to make a major impact on health care research and delivery.