A management information system for nurse/midwives.
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The experiences of nurse/midwives with a simple management information system in the private sector are reported from four facilities in Nigeria. When such a system is being introduced, special attention should be given to strengthening the ability of health workers to record and collate data satisfactorily. (+info)
Workflow management systems--a powerful means to integrate radiologic processes and application systems.
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This presentation describes a research project investigating the suitability of model-based Workflow Management Systems (WfMS) to support radiological process. The following aspects are covered: process modeling, process enactment, and architecture of workflow-enabled application systems. (+info)
The development of a quality information system: a case study of Mexico.
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One of the primary obstacles in the implementation of continuous quality improvement (CQI) programmes in developing countries is the lack of timely and appropriate information for decentralized decision-making. The integrated quality information system (QIS) described herein demonstrates Mexico's unique effort to package four separate, yet mutually reinforcing, tools for the generation and use of quality-related information at all levels of the Mexican national health care system. The QIS is one element of the continuous quality improvement programme administered by the Secretariat of Health in Mexico. Mexico's QIS was designed to be flexible and capable of adapting to local needs, while at the same time allowing for the standardization of health care quality assurance indicators, and subsequent ability to measure and compare the quality performance of health facilities nationwide. The flexibility of the system extends to permit the optimal use of available data by health care managers at all levels of the health care system, as well as the generation of new information in important areas often neglected in more traditional information systems. Mexico's QIS consists of four integrated components: 1) a set of client and provider surveys, to assess specific issues in the quality of health services delivered; 2) client and provider national satisfaction surveys; 3) a sentinel health events strategy; and 4) a national Comparative Performance Evaluation System, for use by the Secretariate of Health for the quality assessment of state and provincial health care services (internal benchmarking). The QIS represents another step in Mexico's ongoing effort to use data for effective decision-making in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of services delivered by the national health care system. The design and application of Mexico's QIS provides a model for decentralized decision-making that could prove useful for developing countries, where the effective use of quality indicators is often limited. Further, the system could serve as a mechanism for motivating positive change in the way information is collected and used in the process of ensuring high quality health care service delivery. (+info)
New uses of legacy systems: examples in perinatal care.
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In this article, new uses of the Perinatal Information System at the Uruguayan Social Security health care facilities are described. The perinatal information system has been in place for over 13 years, with about 40 thousand clinical records on electronic files. A newly created Web interface allows a distributed access to existing perinatal information within the National Social Security Wide Area a Network. Perinatal data is also exported to a management information system, allowing to dynamically answer questions and make managerial decisions, and eventually link these data with other sources. Future steps regarding clinical information systems are outlined. (+info)
Use of a Web-based process model to implement security and data protection as an integral component of clinical information management.
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Delivery of health care at Scott and White, a large integrated health care delivery system, is supported by an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system repository of six million SGML-based documents. Control of document access is currently based on standard commercial security and confidentiality methodologies. Given the planned release in Fall 1999 of new federal security and confidentiality requirements, we have developed a web-based security process model that "wraps" existing EMR documents with HTML-compliant security attributes. Resulting logical documents are filtered regarding user queries by mapping the security attributes of the data to specific user role characteristics. A key virtue of our approach is that source EMR data do not undergo alteration by the imposition of the security process. It also places no additional work load or query pressure on the existing EMR system. (+info)
Computerisation of accident and emergency departments in Hong Kong.
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This article reviews the history and progress of the computerisation of accident and emergency departments in Hong Kong. The Hospital Information System was the first computerisation project to be launched in a public hospital in Hong Kong, when the Princess Margaret Hospital was selected as a pilot site in April 1991. The network infrastructure comprised a central processor that linked to all workstations in the hospital in an integrated network. With the introduction of bar-coding technology and the implementation of an interfaced network, the Accident and Emergency Information System version 1.0 was launched at the Prince of Wales Hospital in March 1993. A Clinical Management System was then piloted at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in December 1997; it contained clinical data of individual patients, including diagnoses, drug treatments, discharge summaries, allergies, and medical histories. Laboratory, diagnostic radiology, and electrocardiography results were also available in this system. With the extensive development of Internet technology within the Hospital Authority, clinical information can now be retrieved in any hospital in a couple of minutes. The availability of important clinical information will be of great help to emergency physicians in the delivery of quality care to patients. (+info)
Management reporting on the Web.
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Driven by easy-to-use World Wide Web technology and new information integration concepts that have proven their worth in business and industry, online management reporting is now becoming an important strategy for improving operational performance in health care organizations. In this article, we provide an overview of these new information management concepts and describe our experience in planning and executing an enterprise-wide Web-enabled management reporting initiative. We also offer an inventory of the key organizational capacities that we found essential for developing and sustaining Web-enabled reporting services for health care managers. (+info)
A knowledge-based patient assessment system: conceptual and technical design.
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This paper describes the design of an inpatient patient assessment application that captures nursing assessment data using a wireless laptop computer. The primary aim of this system is to capture structured information for facilitating decision support and quality monitoring. The system also aims to improve efficiency of recording patient assessments, reduce costs, and improve discharge planning and early identification of patient learning needs. Object-oriented methods were used to elicit functional requirements and to model the proposed system. A tools-based development approach is being used to facilitate rapid development and easy modification of assessment items and rules for decision support. Criteria for evaluation include perceived utility by clinician users, validity of decision support rules, time spent recording assessments, and perceived utility of aggregate reports for quality monitoring. (+info)