A Study of the District Health Information System in Mandera County, Kenya
Study Justification
Improvement in health is recognized as a central factor for development in poor countries. Public health decision making is critically dependent on accurate, timely and reliable information to improve development. To make decision-making possible, managers and policy makers need good information about the current situation of the health of the population. To acquiring good information, a well-functioning health information system (HIS) for gathering, processing, analyzing and using health information is needed (WHO, 2007).
There is a widespread belief that most of the national and sub-national health information systems fail in providing much needed information support for evidence based health planning and interventions. This situation is more acute in developing nations where resources are
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However, a lack of relevant research done at county level about the introduction and use of technologies like information systems, justifies the taking of this research. This research will therefore focus on the introduction, utilization, challenges, and improvements of Health Information Systems at Mandera County in Kenya.
Objectives
The main aims and objectives of this study are, to explore the procedures, tools and problems related to primary health care data collection, storage, use and information flows, and to offer ideas and suggestions on how to improve the systems of routine data collection, storage, analysis and use of information, and more generally to improve the flows of information and health care information systems in Mandera County.
The main research question that will be answered in this research is:
How can use and management of health information be improved at Mandera County for timely and accurate decision-making of public health
Health Information Exchange Providers across the U.S. are turning to the Health Information Exchange also known as HIE. HIE provides secure online access to patients charts among a network of providers, hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies who join in the exchange, so they can have timely electronic access to records their patients will allow them to share. For patients this means having their medical records available no matter where they go and for providers it means having instant access to life saving information when seconds count
Since many health information infrastructure systems are relatively new, there is still variability in the implementation stages that different organizations have achieved. Additionally, most systems will have more than one capability that provides value, so the relationship between the system’s functionality and the resulting impact to patient care must be analyzed in order to determine the value it provides (Einstein, Juzwishin, Kushniruk, & Nahm, 2011). Value of health information infrastructures can be assessed in many different ways, including whether the technology allows the availability of useful information, how that information is utilized by staff and patients, and its impact on health outcomes. For information to be of value and influence medical decision making, it must be comprehensive, accessible, useful, and valid (Fitterer, Mettler, Rohner, & Winter, 2011).
This includes creating, managing and following patient data. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) defines information governance as “an organization wide framework for managing information throughout its lifecycle and for supporting the organization’s strategy, operations, regulatory, legal, risk, and environmental requirements.” In today’s healthcare system, it is more important than ever to know and understand how healthcare information is created, transferred and used. Due to the development of systems such as electronic health records and clinical decision support systems it is important that health information maintains its reliability and validity throughout its
Health Information Exchange: History The history of the health information exchange (HIE) starts in the 1990’s. It began as an attempt to organize several networks so that they could share patient data with each other. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful.
I have been working in the care industry for the past three years. During these three years I 've had the opportunity to work within different care settings, from the elderly, learning disability, challenging behaviours and supported live in to name a few. Throughout this period I managed to obtain countless caring skills working in a community and hospital setting. In addition to this, it also improved my ability to communicate and interact effectively with others in a friendly and professional way at the same time. I believe I have an authentic interest in all
The Department of Health and Human Services (also known as HHS or DHHS) is the United States government's principal for protecting the health of all Americans providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. According to the health and human services website it states “The department’s mission is to enhance and protect the health and wellbeing of all Americans by providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.” In the introduction of this same website it also states “HHS works to provide better health care, promote scientific research, and protect the nation’s health and social services systems. It also works to improve
A regional health information organization is a health information exchange organization where a region’s electronic health information is stored and shared. RHIO’s bring together healthcare stakeholders within a defined geographic area and governs health information exchange among them. The purpose of RHIO’s are to improve health and care in that community. RHIO’s usually have a board of directors consisting of representatives from its member organizations which include healthcare provider entities as well as payers, laboratories and public health departments. In order for RHIOs to be established various stakeholders have to develop consensus on the information that can be shared among different participating entities, data use agreements and programs to assist affiliated provider with health IT adoption at the institutional level.
Depending on the type of office and the patients there in, will determine what electronic health system you will need. Some doctors have patients that need a high level of care and lots of tests and other documented information, like cardiology. Other offices might be able to use a simple program because they don 't have many patients or the patients they do have don 't require extensive documentation. You have to consider the amount of time you may, or may not have to train the staff and get all the information transferred. Once the needs of the facility are determined, it is then important to decide on a system that will coincide.
Activity 1 highlights the types of staff access available within the hospital, including security access, technology restrictions and the different roles access can alter and how it can affect health information data, which is used for hospital funding, employment, resource budgeting, purchase of information systems and the differing types of treatment provided by the hospital. Hospital data attained from hospital health information systems can often present accuracy problems as errors with admission paperwork, coding information, medication and procedure documentation are often written inaccurately, staff are encouraged to actively minimise and reduce errors with appropriate maintenance, automatic error reporting and access restrictions to
Data use agreements and connections between HIE organizations are also a concern with health information exchange. “The types of healthcare partners that are needed is a challenge when determining the trading area needed for a viable HIE” (PHII, 2005). Although there are challenges, there are opportunities with implementing a health information exchange system. One opportunity is HIE can improve reporting to public health and in return improve the health of the community.
What is a Health Information Specialist? Health information specialist is a blanket term that is applied to a variety of technical positions. Almost all of these jobs involve medical data, information technology, electronic health records and health information management systems. The BLS states that the job outlook for health information technicians is expected to continue growing at 15 percent, which is much faster than average.
Personal Health Records Can Save Lives, and That Life Could Be Yours Too! We know what you are thinking after reading the title! Still wondering what Personal Health Record is? Well, if you’re a person who has trouble keeping your health records in a proper way, then this is the information you shouldn’t miss.
The Health Field Model The Health Field Model (HFM) is the conceptual framework that is used by different health care organizations or in individual research projects to evaluate the prevalence, awareness and management of diseases in the community (Pittman, 2010). The HFM, a determinant health model is developed by Bob Evans and Greg Stoddart in 1990. The HFM provides a broad spectrum for understanding health, and the factors that interfere with, and influence the health of individuals in the community. There are features to put into consideration for, in determining the factors that affect many diseases; hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, or influence of health on a community (Kindig & McGinnis, 2007).
Health statistics are important for knowing the health status of the whole population and its various segments and groups, as well as the trend in health status, the provision and distribution of healthcare services, and the impact of the provided services and programs. he success or failure of healthcare programs cannot be veriied without properly collected and interpreted health statistics. Proper allocation of resources also depends on health statistics. Researchers, presenters, and health care workers and students always need health statistics. However, it is not uncommon to ind a local article or presentation, which reports health statistics from all over the world, but fail to report local statistics from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Some country had war that shattered most development and shifted the budget allocation toward combating deficiency. These are a worse predicament as some people became disabling and some of the productive people lose their lives. The situation increase the level of poverty because disable people will need special consideration which will lead to the government adjusting its budget and priorities to cater for its entire people. Economic crisis also plays a key role in increasing poverty, this affect people directly because it leads to retrenchment and decrease in Gross Domestic