- When we say ‘Health Information Systems’ what is usually meant is Public Health Information Systems. A well designed HIS is supposed to have the following characteristics.
- Concentrate on the medical and overall wellbeing of a population and not simply that of a few individuals.
- Take into account demographic changes of the population for preventive action pertaining to certain illnesses.
- Should be supported by simple and easy to understand informatics from which derivatives can be easily calculated even by people who have not been provided training. Should be very user-friendly.
- System design in Modular Style and depending upon capacity, can be easily increased by addition of modules, and
- Data Input is possible only at a few service locations called entry points, by data input officers.
B) Decision types (examples) that are made possible by HIS (and other generic information systems) are given below.
- Clinical Decision Supporting Systems.
- Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS)
- Computer Supported Co-operative work (CSCW)
- Logistics systems
- Financial Planning systems
In Public health, the inputs from the HIS are used in times of unknown emergencies when Routine Health Information Systems (RIHS) do not or cannot help because of limited exposure. Key RHIS-strengthening lattices with the objective of strengthening RHIS at times of disaster; and disaster preparedness must be incorporated into countries’ RHIS.
Aung & Whittaker point out the following main points. (2012)
Health policy makers should be aware of the need for strengthening Routine Health Information Systems (RHIS) to support immediate disaster responses, and health staff and managers, who develop and maintain RHIS, should understand disaster-specific information needs and how to prepare RHIS for early disaster response.
C ) For Performance Measurement, RHIS uses a process tool called Performance of Routine Health Information Systems also known as PRISM to carry out the measurement. The PRISM hypothesis is that improved performance is the leading edge of better health system performance which then plays a role in the health status of the population.
Reference:
- Aung, E & Whitaker, M (2012). “Preparing routine health information systems for immediate health responses to disasters”. Oxford journal of health policy and planning, (2013) 28 (5): 495-507. DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czs081
- Hovenga, E.J.S. (2010). Health Informatics: An Overview. IOS Press B.V. Amsterdam.
Netherlands.
