PAHO Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Pan American Health Organization. Setting up Healthcare Services Information Systems: A Guide for Requirement Analysis, Application Specification, and Procurement. Washington, D.C. : PAHO,
© 1999. ISBN 92 75 12266 0 I. Title. NLM W26.5 ISBN 92 75 12266 0 The Pan American Health Organization welcomes requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications, in part or in full. Applications and inquiries should be addressed to the Publications Program, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C., which will be glad to provide the latest information on any changes made to the text, plans for new editions, and reprints and translations already available. © Pan American Health Organization, 1999 Publications of the Pan American Health Organization enjoy copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. All rights reserved. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Pan American Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the Pan American Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters.The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this Publication.
Editorial Team Pan
American Health Organization PAHO Collaborators Pan
American Health Organization External Collaborators International
Panel of Experts This publication is the result of an extensive review of many sources and a compilation of collective and individual contributions made by an international group of distinguished professionals. It represents the conclusion of more than two years of work, consultations, and expert meetings. We were very fortunate to be able to access professionals from public and private health organizations, academic institutions, and industry, with extensive experience in the area of health services information systems design, implementation, and operation. To them we would like to declare our recognition and thankfulness. This undertaking was conceived and conducted in the framework of a partnership between the Pan American Health Organization and the IBM Corporation aimed at the investigation of health services information systems and technology, with emphasis directed to the requirements of Latin America and the Caribbean countries. We express our special gratitude to IBM Brasil Ltda. and IBM Healthcare Industry, for providing invaluable technical input and partial financial support to this endeavor. We thank Dr. Daniel Lopez-Acuña, Director of the Health Systems and Services Development Division, for his suggestions and encouragement throughout the execution of this challenging project. We could not end without expressing our sincere appreciation for the skilled assistance provided by the staff of the former PAHO Health Services Information Systems Program in handling consultants’ schedules, contracts, and travel, and in the organization of two international consultative meetings held respectively in São Paulo, Brazil, and in Washington, D.C. The Editors
Foreword It is a pleasure to write a brief foreword to this book Setting Up Healthcare Services Information Systems. It is billed as a guide for requirement analysis, application specification and procurement, but it goes beyond that and gives much of the background necessary for understanding the nature of the tasks involved in setting up the systems that are required. I have stressed repeatedly, here in the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), that information is a critical resource for our work. Our technical cooperation must be based on good information about those areas in which we will cooperate with our Member States. It is essential that we have information about the health status of the people of the Americas and that part of our technical cooperation be also directed towards strengthening the national capacity to collect the needed data on health status and transform them into useful information. But we are well aware that it is not enough to have information on health status or morbidity conditions; it is also crucial that there be information on those factors that have been deemed to be determinants of health. Many of these factors are outside the range of activities that fall within the purview of those institutions, which have traditionally been included in the health sector. But there is no doubt that the health services, which represent one of those determinants, have to be the constant concern of the health sector. The importance of the health services does not only depend on their intrinsic value for health, but also because they represent a major cost — particularly those services that are responsible for the restoration of health. The growth of technology has made healthcare services increasingly complex and with this growth in complexity has come more difficulty in managing the multiple resources that must contribute to the function of the services. Competent management of the services requires that there be efficient and effective information systems. The information systems have themselves grown in sophistication and the net effect of the changes and developments has been to create the need for understanding the systems within the services as interlocking and for appreciating the extent to which information technology can assist. Thus a publication which guides the manager in understanding the needs for the information technology is most useful. But, in addition, this publication performs the essential task of helping those who have managerial responsibility in the healthcare services to understand the steps necessary to definite needs and then to acquire the information technology to satisfy those needs. The responsibility of disseminating information that is important for various aspects of management of the health systems and services, is also an important facet of our technical cooperation. Another attractive aspect of this publication is that it represents the product of a partnership with a private sector organization. This is a trend that must continue, as it becomes ever clearer that all sectors and a wide range of actors are to be involved in finding solutions to the pressing problems of health. I hope that this publication will have the widest possible circulation and be a useful reference for all those who are involved in providing healthcare. Dr. George
A. O. Alleyne
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