Health information systems in Namibia

Purpose This paper aims to report some findings of a study that investigated health information systems (HISs) in Namibia with a view of establishing the nature of these systems and coming up with recommendations on how these could be enhanced. Design/methodology/approach This study applied a mixed methods research approach, using interviews and survey questionnaire to collect data. Survey data were analysed for descriptive statistics using SPSS and data from interviews were analysed applying content analysis for data analysis. Findings The findings of this study indicate fragmented HISs resulting in duplication of diagnosis, tests and treatment. The findings show that there were errors in capturing data into the systems, which could compromise the reliability of the data and compromise service delivery. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to two (Khomas and Oshana) of the fourteen regions in Namibia; therefore, further studies could look at other regions, as the study findings cannot be generalised to the entire country. Practical implications The findings and recommendations, particularly those relating to the public health sector, could inform policies and procedures, especially those relating to the patient health passport (card), and the way health information is shared within and across health sectors. Originality/value This study focused on health information sharing, whereas a previous study on HISs concentrated on quality of healthcare.

Download Full-text

Transforming South Africa’s health sector

Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management ◽

10.1108/jstpm-02-2016-0001 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 330-345 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Shadrack Katuu

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Information Systems ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Sector ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Content Management ◽

International Standards ◽

Complex Nature ◽

Maturity Model ◽

Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of transforming South Africa’s health sector through the country’s eHealth Strategy and particularly one of its key components, the implementation of an integrated Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS). Design/methodology/approach The study conducted an extensive review of literature and used it as a basis to analyse the challenges as well as opportunities in South Africa’s transformation path within its health sector based on the nation’s eHealth Strategy. Findings South Africa’s health sector faces three main transformation challenges: inequity, legacy of fragmentation and a service delivery structure biased towards curative rather than preventive services. Health information systems provide a solid platform for improving efficiency but, within South Africa, these systems have been highly heterogeneous. A recent study showed the country had more than 40 individual health information systems scattered in all provinces, with over 50 per cent not adhering to any national or international standards and more than 25 per cent being stand-alone applications that shared information neither locally nor externally. The eHealth Strategy offers a robust platform to start addressing the legacy of fragmentation and lack of interoperability. However, it also raises a few other concerns, including the use of different terminology such as Electronic Medical Record (EMR) interchangeable with Electronic Health Record (EHR), or EDRMS parallel with Electronic Content Management (ECM). In addition, there is the opportunity to explore the use of the maturity model concept in the EDRMS implementation experiences within South Africa. Originality/value This paper demonstrated the complex nature of the legacy of fragmentation in South Africa’s health information systems and explored three aspects relating to terminology as well as maturity models that should be considered in the country’s future eHealth Strategy.

Download Full-text

Strengthening Healthcare Systems and Health Information Systems

10.1093/med/9780198758778.003.0010 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Sundeep Sahay ◽

T Sundararaman ◽

Jørn Braa

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Informatics ◽

Health Sector ◽

Systems Design ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Health Systems Strengthening ◽

Health Coverage ◽

Public Health Informatics ◽

Reform Processes

Establishment of health information systems has been a central objective of health sector reform in nearly all LMICs over the last two to three decades. Historically, reform processes have taken introduction of health information systems as inhertently strengthening health sector performance. But today it is more appropriate to talk of health sector strengthening as co-evolving with health information systems strengthening, each reinforcing the performance and reform agendas of the other. The need to build synergies is heightened as there are a multitude of global and national health reform processes underway, like those assoicated with the sustainable development goals or with universal health coverage and each of these have expanded informational needs, requiring robust, flexible, and evolving health information systems. An understanding of the challenges faced by efforts at health systems strengthening helps provide meaningful inputs into health information systems design and vice versa. Such an understanding will enrich public health informatics as an academic discipline, as an area of practice, and as a policy domain.

Download Full-text

Privacy and Security: Are Your Health Information Systems up to Standard?

Health Information Management ◽

10.1177/183335839702600409 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 26 (4) ◽

pp. 197-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tina Magennis ◽

Jennifer Mitchell

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Information Systems ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Health Data ◽

Human Behaviour ◽

Personal Health ◽

Privacy And Security ◽

Patient Health ◽

Privacy And Confidentiality

As electronic patient health information systems become more fully developed and widespread, there are persistent concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of the personal health data being stored and disseminated. Standards Australia has released two Standards which provide useful guidelines for the organisational, technological and human behaviour solutions required to protect privacy and confidentiality in health care organisations. The major requirements of these Standards are outlined and the implications of the Standards for health information managers are discussed.

Download Full-text

Towards Design Principles for Pharmacist-Patient Health Information Systems

Design Science at the Intersection of Physical and Virtual Design - Lecture Notes in Computer Science ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-38827-9_45 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 519-526 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dirk Volland ◽

Klaus Korak ◽

David Brückner ◽

Tobias Kowatsch

Keyword(s):

Information Systems ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Design Principles ◽

Patient Health ◽

Patient Health Information

Download Full-text

COVID-19 image transmission using convolutional neural networks based algorithms for medical applications

World Journal of Engineering ◽

10.1108/wje-03-2021-0158 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Gangadhar Ch ◽

Nama Ajay Nagendra ◽

Syed Mutahar Aaqib ◽

C.M. Sulaikha ◽

Shaheena Kv ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Networks ◽

Information Systems ◽

Ct Scan ◽

Health Information ◽

Convolutional Neural Networks ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Ct Images ◽

Chest Ct ◽

Content Type ◽

Chest Ct Scan

Purpose COVID-19 would have a far-reaching impact on the international health-care industry and the patients. For COVID-19, there is a need for unique screening tests to reliably and rapidly determine who is infected. Medical COVID images protection is critical when data pertaining to computer images are being transmitted through public networks in health information systems. Design/methodology/approach Medical images such as computed tomography (CT) play key role in the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. Neural networks-based methods are designed to detect COVID patients using chest CT scan images. And CT images are transmitted securely in health information systems. Findings The authors hereby examine neural networks-based COVID diagnosis methods using chest CT scan images and secure transmission of CT images for health information systems. For screening patients infected with COVID-19, a new approach using convolutional neural networks is proposed, and its output is simulated. Originality/value The required patient’s chest CT scan images have been taken from online databases such as GitHub. The experiments show that neural networks-based methods are effective in the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients using chest CT scan images.

Download Full-text

Computer-Based Health Information Systems

Information Communication Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-949-6.ch161 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 2209-2231

Author(s):

C. R. Ranjini ◽

Sundeep Sahay

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Information Systems ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Management ◽

Health Sector ◽

Family Health ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Information Management System ◽

Health Information Management ◽

Information Management Systems

Large investments are being made to reform the health sector in developing countries as the various reports that indicate this potential of ICT is not being fully realized on the ground in particular settings. In this chapter, an empirical investigation of the introduction of health information systems in the primary health-care sector in India is reported. Three cases—the India Health Care Project, Family Health Information Management System, and Integrated Health Information Management Systems—are presented. The authors argue against adopting a technocentric approach during the development of the HIS and suggest that these efforts should be sensitive to the sociotechnical context. Furthermore, a variety of constraints are identified. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the potentials of integration to address some of the identified constraints.

Download Full-text

Utilisation of Health Information Systems for Service Delivery in the Namibian Environment

Advances in Healthcare Information Systems and Administration - Maximizing Healthcare Delivery and Management through Technology Integration ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-9446-0.ch011 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 169-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ronald Karon

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Information Systems ◽

Service Delivery ◽

Health Information ◽

Health Sector ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Public Healthcare ◽

Portable Devices ◽

The Public

The use of Health Information Systems (HIS) is considered to be a major contributing factor to healthcare service delivery. However, the utilisation of HIS which includes use and management is critically challenging in the public health sector in many developing countries. The manifestation of the challenges results in poor service delivery, which includes patient deaths. This is the main motivation for this study, to investigate how HIS can be used to improve service delivering in the hospitals from developing countries perspective. The study was carried out in Namibia, using two hospitals in the public healthcare. The study adopted the qualitative case study. The study revealed that the use of parallel systems, lack of systems integration, lack of portable devices and users' incompetency are some of the factors which impact the use and management of HIS in hospitals.

Download Full-text

Waste in health information systems: a systematic review

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance ◽

10.1108/ijhcqa-06-2016-0082 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 341-357 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Nadia Awang Kalong ◽

Maryati Yusof

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Information Systems ◽

Health Information ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Health Information Systems ◽

Tool Selection ◽

Content Type ◽

Root Cause ◽

Lean Transformation ◽

Lean Tools

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss a systematic review on waste identification related to health information systems (HIS) in Lean transformation. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was conducted on 19 studies to evaluate Lean transformation and tools used to remove waste related to HIS in clinical settings. Findings Ten waste categories were identified, along with their relationships and applications of Lean tool types related to HIS. Different Lean tools were used at the early and final stages of Lean transformation; the tool selection depended on the waste characteristic. Nine studies reported a positive impact from Lean transformation in improving daily work processes. The selection of Lean tools should be made based on the timing, purpose and characteristics of waste to be removed. Research limitations/implications Overview of waste and its category within HIS and its analysis from socio-technical perspectives enabled the identification of its root cause in a holistic and rigorous manner. Practical implications Understanding waste types, their root cause and review of Lean tools could subsequently lead to the identification of mitigation approach to prevent future error occurrence. Originality/value Specific waste models for HIS settings are yet to be developed. Hence, the identification of the waste categories could guide future implementation of Lean transformations in HIS settings.

Download Full-text