Medical Information System

Standardized methods of collection, evaluation or verification, storage, and retrieval of data about a
patient. The three broad areas of any information system—input, data transformation, and output—
suffice to describe an existing system, but they are insufficient to design a new one. To these must be
added the action that is expected to take place on the basis of the data output from the system, thereby
defining the purpose of the system, and the feedback from such action to the system input, which places
the system in a specific medical environment. Crucial to any information system, and especially for a
medical system, is the accuracy of the input data, which is of more significance than mere precision. A
medical information system is a part of necessary time management that is intended to maximize the
amount of data and procedure information in order to make the most accurate clinical decisions. As
such, an information management system must be interactive to serve clinical decision purposes.

Health Information System

The health information system provides the underpinnings for decision-making and has four key
functions:

(i) data generation, (ii) compilation, (iii) analysis and synthesis, and (iv) communication and use. The
health information system collects data from health and other relevant sectors, analyses the data and
ensures their overall quality, relevance and timeliness, and converts the data into information for
health-related decision making.

A health information system (HIS) is broadly defined as a system that integrates data collection,
processing, reporting, and use of the information necessary for improving health service effectiveness
and efficiency through better management at all levels of health services.

It encompasses all health data sources including: health facility and community data; electronic health
records for patient care; population-based data; human resources information; financial information;
supply chain information; and surveillance information, along with the use and communication of this
information.

Hospital Information System

A hospital information system (HIS) is a computer system that can manage all the information related to
health care providers allowing them to do their job effectively. They were introduced in the 1960s and
have changed over time. Computers weren’t as fast in the past as they are today and they were not able
to provide information in real time. The staff used them primarily for managing billing and hospital
inventory.

The term Hospital Information Systems (HIS) refers to the component of health informatics that places
focus largely on the administrative, financial, and clinical needs of hospitals. These systems augment the
ability of healthcare professionals to coordinate care by providing a patient’s health information and
visit history at the place and time that it is required. So basically, HIS is designed to manage patients and
their related information in a centralised way via electronic data processing and predict health status
within the hospital environment. No doubt, it has as its aim to provide better healthcare service with
precision accuracy.
The hospital information system operates online and covers the relevant hospital network through the
intranet. Database servers are used to store information on the medicines that are required to cure
relevant illnesses. It also schedules online appointments for doctors; and it manages the payment
records of patients.

Benefits of Hospital Information Systems

 Delivery of quality patient care – particularly ambulatory and outpatient.

 Improved financial management
 Heightened integrity of information
 Reduced transcription errors – e.g. illegible handwriting of doctors has caused medical errors in
prescription provided
 Reduction in re-testing because common information shows what has already been diagnosed
 No duplication of information entries
 Improved turnaround time for Reports and Results
 Reliable storage and immediate retrieval of shared information
 Limit access to patient healthcare data to only authorised personnel
 User friendly interface

Clinic Information System

Clinical Information System (CIS) is a computer-based system that is meant to gather, store, and alter
clinical data on patients. These systems may be used at single locations or across entire healthcare
systems. The purpose of CIS is to integrate, collect, store and manage data from a number of sources to
support healthcare operational management, support policy decisions and manage patient data.

CIS has many benefits, including the automation of tedious manual activities, increased accuracy due to
reduced human error, traceable records available from many sites of care at the same time, and
connection with other bedside equipment and information systems. The built-in error checking and
knowledge-based methods should also result in a more secure and high-quality clinical process. The CIS
electronically captures the data and possibly makes it available to a wide range of systems. This
eliminates the need for manual data input or transcription, while also making the data available for a
variety of reasons such as clinical, corporate, and research reporting.

Some CIS’s are designed for specific use, with one such example occurring in the Intensive Care Unit
(ICU). In this case, the CIS can communicate with the several computer systems found in a hospitals,
such as pathology and radiology. It consolidates data from all of these systems into an electronic patient
record that physicians may access at the patient's bedside. As a result, it can improve communication
between clinicians, provide relevant data for clinical decision makers, encourage quality improvement,
provide real-time, accurate data to aid in clinical research and provide clinicians with patient x-rays and
scans in a more timely manner.

CIS can also provide clinical information in a well organised system, and reduces error through the use of
legible, electronic information. This can lead to reduced human error and increased patient safety.

Electronic Medical Record (EMR)

Clinical Information Systems differ from Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems.
EHR contains information about a person's health, including test results, treatments and past medical
history. It is also intended to exchange information with other electronic health records so that other
healthcare professionals may have access to a patient's medical information.

CIS is highly specific, and stores and manages information that is directly collected from caretaker and
service providers, while the EHR provides a more generalised patient medical record that aids in
informing clinical care. EHR’s contain a wider amount of information encompassing a variety of health
topics and include other health professionals.

EHR and CIS systems can collaborate to give a more complete picture of a patient's health. EHR systems
may draw information from CIS systems to provide precise information to decision-making clinicians,
allowing them to better treat their patients. These CIS and EHR advantages are enhanced by cloud-based
EHR systems, which can send this information to clinicians regardless of their location. The integration of
these two systems will provide consumers with a more responsive healthcare experience.

Despite its benefits, CIS can present some barriers, such as a high cost of acquisition, healthcare
institutions lacking the technology, clinician resistance, and could present privacy and security concerns
if not utilised correctly.

LABORATORY INFORMATION SYSTEM

Features:

 Laboratory Test Processing

 Test Scheduling
 Proactive Specimen / Sample Collection (Prescheduled Tests)
 Billing for Laboratory Reporting
 Diagnostic Reporting
 Laboratory Safety and Accident Investigation
 Statistical Analysis and Surveillance
 Inventory control including kits and forms management
 Electronic transfer of data

COST: $4,000 - $100,000

RESOURCES: Laboratory Information Systems Project Management: A guidebook for international

implementations (2018)

SOFTWARE CATEGORY: Open-source software

PHARMACY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

FEATURES:

 Clinical Screening Input

 Patient Profile Database
 Inventory Database
 Financial Intelligence Database / Billing
 Physician monitoring database
 Medication Administration Record Input
 Dispensing workflow management database
 Analytics and reporting database
 Prescription input
 Database and Inventory Management
 Drug Dispensing
 Drug Interaction Protection

COST: $10,000 - $100,000

SOFTWARE CATEGORY: Open source software