Implementation of Health Information System to Begin this Year

The Ministry of Health during this financial year intends to design a wider Health Information System (HIS), to among other things, facilitate efficient planning and management delivery of health care services.
This disclosure was made by Minister of Health, Horace Dalley during his contribution to the 2007/08 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives yesterday (June 19).
He pointed out that while the full implementation of this system will take three to five years, the Ministry intends to start the process this year. “A first rate HIS is a critical resource in a modern health sector. The present HIS is mostly manual and managers are unable to get information on demand which detracts from efficient management of health services,” he informed.
Upon completion the HIS will facilitate: improved management of patients with ease of referral and continuity of care; flexibility so that routine information as well as ad hoc studies will be readily available; and improved monitoring of performance and evaluation of the impact of health interventions.