Name: MAURA NICOLE UCOL Subject: HIS LABORATORY

Year and Section:  BSMLS 1A Date: 11-24-2021

Instructor: JESTONI SORIANO

Instructions: Choose one health information system that is being in the Philippines and submit a
narrative report on the history, market share, and main features of the system. 

Convert your file to PDF before submission. (Maximum grade: 20 pts)

BLACKBOX is a public health management information system that includes vital statistics, mortality, 

and notifiable diseases. It is a computer application created by HAMIS in collaboration with and for 

the Philippine Department of Health. The application was created in the dBase/Clipper programming 

language and consists of two modules: one for Public Health Programs (version 5.8) and another for 

Vital Statistics Mortality and Notifiable Diseases (M&M). BLACKBOX can access data files from any 

RHO, Provincial Health Office (PHO), District or City Health Office (DHO or CHO), Rural Health Unit 

(RHU, also known as the Municipal Health Office), or Barangay Health Station (BHS) in the country.

BLACKBOX was created to eliminate the magic and mystery surrounding the electronic FHSIS 

database. It should be a BACKBOX that returns data to those who generated it. The system is 

entirely controlled by menus. It allows even a low-level user to choose from a set of analytic outputs 

and build health-care reports automatically. The data can be aggregated for any BHS, RHU, 

DHO/CHO, PHO, RHO, or even the entire country. In addition, the outputs can be consolidated for 

any number of months, quarters, or even the entire year. After all, the health manager shouldn't 

need to be a computer genius to access and interpret the health database.

In the Philippines, pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading causes of illness and mortality. 

TB was the fourth largest cause of mortality in 1992 and 1993, accounting for 6% of all fatalities in 

both years. This conclusion is based on a BLACKBOX analysis of data from Region 10's Field Health 

Services Information System (FHSIS) (Northern Mindanao). Pneumonia (18% of all fatalities in 1992, 

15% in 1993), vascular disease (10% of all deaths in 1992, 11% in 1993), and accidents were the top 

three causes of death in 1992 and 1993. (9 percent of all deaths in 1992, 8 percent in 1993).

Tuberculosis was found in about 1% of the entire population aged 15 and up. This was true in 1992 

as well as 1993. All TB cases were then treated, with two-thirds receiving short-course 
chemotherapy (SCC) and the other third receiving a normal regimen (SR). SCC is a six-month 

treatment that includes rifampicin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide. SR is a 12-month treatment that 

combines streptomycin and isoniazid. SCC was extremely effective, with a 97'Yo sputum conversion 

rate after just two months. This means that two months after beginning SCc treatment, 9 out of 10 

TB patients were no longer infectious. Furthermore, half of SCC patients finish the treatment in a 

year. On the other hand, the drop-out rate for SR (12 percent in 1992 and 11 percent in 1993) was 

twice as high as it was for SCC (7 percent in 1992 and 6 percent in 1993). According to the TB Control 

Service's cost estimates, SCC costs around P 500.00 (almost US $19.00) per patient, per course. Over 

the course of six months, this comes to only P 3.00 each day. SR, on the other hand, is around P 

700.00 per patient every course. These pricing estimates are based on purchasing medications in 

bulk. The DOH's Community Drug Insurance Program could be one way for community 

organizations, in particular, to benefit from bulk drug buying. The Community Health Service is 

leading the charge on this front. The Main features of Black Box are: A single command is used to launch
the program: BLACKBOX. All 

the user has to do now is manipulate a lightbar with the cursor keys to select from a succession of 

options. The user must first select the health unit, or group of units, for which he wants information. 

He accomplishes it by picking his preferred Region, Province, District, RHU, or BHS. This is the 

'geographic aggregating sequence,' which allows the user can choose between the most basic 

reporting unit, the BHS, and aggregating units at various reporting levels. After making his selection, 

the user is asked to specify the reference year. The user is then given with a list of public health 

programs for which the FHSIS collects data in version 5.8 of BLACKBOX. He chooses one, and then is 

asked to choose an analytic output. If the data is reported on a monthly basis, the user can choose 

the number of months to aggregate and the month to begin with. This is the 'temporal aggregating 

sequence,' which allows the user to specify the number of months or quarters for which the data 

should be aggregated, based on the data reporting frequency. Similarly, the M&M module of 

BLACKBOX allows the user to choose the notifiable disease of interest, as well as the number of 

weeks and starting week for which the data should be aggregated. The outputs from the BLACKBOX 

can be sent to a screen, printer, or a file. The tables are saved as ASCII text files, and the graphs are 

stored as PCX files. The tables are displayed on a customized word processing interface that allows 
for complete customization. The user can then fill in his interpretation and provide the printout as a 

formal report. The ability to split the screen horizontally and examine two tables in parallel is 

another unique feature of the BLACKBOX word processor. The modular nature of the output tables 

and graphs is a unique feature. This means that, as long as the data pieces are present, a health 

manager can request further tables and graphs to be programmed, and the request can be fulfilled 

in a matter of hours. All that is required is to take the ‘skeleton program,' add the additional 

variables and calculations, and then recompile it.

Marte, B, Schwefel, D.(1995) The Philippine management information system for public health 

programs, vital statistics, mortality and notifiable diseases. 176-Schwefel-Marte-MIS-Philippines.pdf.

http://detlef-schwefel.de/176-Schwefel-Marte-MIS-Philippines.pdf