The study of health information system performance from managers and experts' viewpoints

Abstract

Human resources comprise an important element in implementation of any successful health information system including any kind of information technology used. Our aim of study was to investigate some aspects of the current health information system in Tabraiz University of Medical Sciences and its different subdivisions and study attitudes of health managers and health experts regarding this system. In this cross-sectional study a total of 240 health system experts along with 32 health system managers working in different subdivisions of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and Health Services through out the province were entered into the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the main data and some extra data were gathered checking the registers and available files. Data were entered into the computer and analyzed with SPSS 11 statistical package. We found in this study that Excel and Access were the main statistical software packages installed and used in information and statistics units. Data collection was commonly done in 71.2% of information and statistics units based on a given standard plan. The main procedures used for analyzing or interpreting the data were comparing with previous data in 59.4%. Planning and decision making were the most common purposes of using information as declared both by managers and experts. 61.9% of managers compared to 47.5% of health system experts said they commonly use available statistical data to evaluate services supplied by their own units. Nearly a quarter of both managers and health system experts said they commonly receive feedback from higher levels of organization regarding the statistical information sent by them. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information.