Introduction

A good HIS provides the following

• Password protected the database
• Role based permissions
• Ability to encrypt data
• Ability to make multiple back-up copies and transfer them to "off-site" locations
• Audit every record for who created it, what reason, when and why is was accessed
• Prevention of data changes during after a "time interval" or without the proper permission.
• Ability to use "aliases" for individuals, services, and products. Provides confidentially and privacy
• Accessible any where by any individual with permission
• Data error and fraud detection routines

• Automatically inserts the following data on every record.
  • User
  • Department
  • Healthcare Professional
  • Date/Time
  • Patient
  • Document type
  • Document Identification number
  • Electronic signature if require
  • Co-signer if required

• Complete set of clinical and hospital policies and procedures

• Reference data is easily accessed

• All forms can be updated immediately and distributed.

• Advisory data available for each client

• Business Rules and Policies can be easily changed and distributed immediately

• Rules and Policies can be easily verified and co-signed by all individuals required.

• Measures to improve the quality of patient-based information have focused on timeliness, relevance, and accuracy. Where “relevance" depends on who is using the information, data available in real time becomes more relevance. 

• The InHCc System collects information that can be used by managers to manage. In the past, it was considered sufficient to create indicators for “performance evaluation”; the InHCc system creates data to be able to manage these performance indicators, to be able to change them.

• Coding rules are built into the InHCc system that help prevent inconsistent data. All codes are entered automatically into the database based on a descriptive selection of the user. The user does not know or need to know the codes. There is no need for “coders”.

• Data fields that are required (are they complete)

• Are all documents with electronic signature requirements signed

• Who and When a document was opened.

• No data is deleted

• Data is corrected by creating a new record (automatically with the new data).

• The user that changed the data as well as the when, where, why is recorded

• All changes are archived

Safety of Data

• Reduction in "lost data"

• Protect Intellectual Property

• Storage and Retrieval costs are reduced

• "Backups" are easy and can occur automatically.

• "Backups" are created both in internally storage and external (off-premises) or in the "cloud"

Patient Privacy

• Security such that only authorized individuals may access client data is easier to enforced.

• Ability to set "confidential levels"

It Control

• IT personal not needed at Local Units (Remote Administration)

Fax and Scans

• Easy. Scans can automatically be indexed and save in the patients file

Centralized Control

The creation of an information system using Web Technology, a Centralized Warehouse, and Data Mining allows a completely integrated system.  

Since all data can be collected using Web Technology and stored in one location, it is possible to create a critical mass of High Level Human Resources by assembling them into a  "super team"  built around this Centralized Data Warehouse.

Top ranked statisticians can be placed in one location. There would be no need to duplicate jobs or functions across levels.

This organizational unit should include the following:

• High level managers

• High level researchers

• High level computer resources

These resources can be located anywhere in the world and can be used to remotely control the clients. 

Many organizations in developed countries have spend large amounts of money and time trying to protect their older systems and procedures. Because most developing countries, in general, have not made these large investments in older systems and technology, they have nothing to protect. This is a big advantage in implementing any new system. Developing countries can “leap ahead” of developed countries by not tying themselves down to their older technology--so long as the donor organizations recognize the advantages.   

We had started out by listing the benefits of a good information system in several different places. This page is an attempt to "organization" the list and in particular to list the benefits of an integrated system. 

General Benefits

• Data is standardized
• Quality of data collected improved
• No redundant data entry
• Identify and Target Populations
• Sharing of data
• Immediate Access to data
• Speed up processes
• Better Research

A full discussion on each benefit is found in their respective sections. 

Example1:
In one study, it was determined that clinical workers in family planning could do a more comprehensive examination if they had a “written plan” to follow. This plan was a list of procedures to follow and questions to ask. According to the research clinical Professional without the plan, would only cover approximately 35% of the questions that should have been asked. Clinical Professionals with the plan were covering over 95% of the needed procedures. After a short time using this plan, it was determined that the workers learned the procedures more thoroughly and soon only needed to view the plan to check to be sure that they had not forgotten a question or procedure.

Example2:
In one family planning center, a card file was created for each patient. In was determined that by using these cards for references, when patients returned, a more complete diagnosis of the patients could be obtained. The files enabled the clinical worker to accumulate information and examine long-term trends on individual patients. What was missing from this card system, however, was the ability to accumulate information over “all” patients. To obtain statistics from the large amount of data available, by hand-calculation, required a significant amount of time and repeated  “passes” through the data. This often took long time periods of time to complete; it would only be done when the staff were not busy, and included many errors.  It was determined that with the money that was spend on the index cards, filing cabinets, paper, and labor to obtain the statistics, a computer could have been purchased that would allowed the clinic to obtain better quality data in a more timely manner.

Example3
In one hospital that was keeping statistics on patient care, a team of coders was hired to review the written records of the patient records and to code this data in order for it to be analyzed. More coders were hired to do the coding than the nurses that were required to care for the patients! Collection and coding of the data after the event is extremely expensive. If data is coded when the clinical data is first taken, it is more accurate and cheaper to do.

Example 4
Tracking drug use by patients is an important quality of care issue in health care organizations. In one hospital, although very good records were kept of patients, these records were kept in a room some distance away from the hospital. These records were never seen again once they went to this room. Many returning patients were receiving multi doses of antibiotics without any controls. 

Example 5

In one country, it was InHCc's task to estimate the savings in cost of merging the Family Planning unit with the Mother and Child Health section. The first step was to calculate the resources that were available. That seemed easy. Just add up the facilities and personnel in each location. However, I later found out that the personnel that were reported in each location were not really there. It seems that new medical doctors were assigned to rural clinics but soon left to the big city. No checks were every made so it was impossible to estimate the staff at each location.