Dumanjug, Charlene Kaye S.

MT 14 SECTION C – Exercise I February 02, 2021

Health Information Systems

1. Routine Information Systems

Routine health information system (RHIS) is a type of system wherein data is
collected at regular intervals may it be at public, private or community-level health
facilities. The collected data consists of health status, health services, and health
resources which is gathered by the healthcare providers and supervisors from the
patients. Routine health facility surveys are also done to collect data. The records of
the individual health of the patients, services delivered, and health resources are
among the sources of the acquired data (Routine Health Information Systems, n.d.).
Furthermore, Hotchkiss et al. (2012) said that RHIS include “paper-based or electronic
health records and facility- and district-level management information systems. At
district level, it creates information to support the management and planning of quality
health care services (Edwards, 2006).
According to Aqil et al. (2009), the RHIS is significant to identify what is lacking
in the management of a certain health system as well as resolve these gaps to improve
and maintain the performance of the system. Its task is to produce accurate and
complete information for acting in the health sector. Through this, it would be easier
for managers to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the health system functions
and services and take action to provide better service.
Examples: facility-based service statistics, vital events registration, community-based
information systems, sentinel reporting

2. Disease Surveillance Systems

As defined by the World Health Organization (n.d.), public health surveillance

is the “continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related
data needed for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice.”
Functioning surveillance systems is essential for health programs to succeed. If there
is no correct and updated data in the health sector, then the possibility that diseases
will be misunderstood, and the resources being allocated incorrectly is high. However,
the major problem that most developing countries face is that there is limited available
resources, disorganization, lack of knowledgeable staff, and poor infrastructure for
reporting and finding cases. Thus, having stronger public health surveillance systems
should be made a priority because with reliable data, the assessment of the state of
health problems will be more accurate. Furthermore, it will allow investors to allocate
the resources effectively and improve the health promotion programs in a certain
country (Importance of Surveillance and Detection in Public Health Initiatives, n.d.).
Dumanjug, Charlene Kaye S. MT 14 SECTION C – Exercise I February 02, 2021

Basically, disease surveillance is involved in the collection, analysis, and

interpretation of information or various data coming from a variety of sources. The
information acquired will be used for the following purposes “(a) evaluate the
effectiveness of control and preventative health measures; (b) monitor changes in
infectious agents such as trends in development of antimicrobial resistance; (c)
support health planning and the allocation of appropriate resources within the
healthcare system; (d) identify high risk populations or areas to target interventions,
and (e) provide a valuable archive of disease activity for future reference (What Is
Disease Surveillance?, 2019).”
Examples:
a. Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting in Ireland
Source: https://www.hpsc.ie/abouthpsc/whatisdiseasesurveillance/

The role of this information system is to manage the control and surveillance
of infectious diseases in Ireland.

b. Philippine Disease Surveillance System

As stated by Changcoco et al. (2017), the Philippine Disease Surveillance
System is designed to manage and integrate the surveillance process to
provide assistance to the National Epidemiology Center in the analyzation of
disease distribution and trends across the archipelago.

3. Laboratory Information Systems

Wagner et al. (2006) stated that the laboratory information system is a software
system that is responsible in receiving and storing, recording, and managing data in
clinical laboratories. The results are inputted by laboratory technicians or directly from
laboratory instruments. It is then accessible through paper reports and electronic
interfaces, both to the patients and other information systems.
The functions of LIS according to
https://www.limswiki.org/index.php/Laboratory_information_system include, but not
limited to the following:

Source: Laboratory Information System: Common LIS functions. (2020, March 21). LIMSWiki.
Retrieved from https://www.limswiki.org/index.php/Laboratory_information_system

▪ “patient management, including admission date, admitting physician, ordering

department, specimen type;
▪ patient data tracking;
▪ standard test ordering and specimen tracking;
▪ test ordering for point-of-care, molecular, and genetic testing;
Dumanjug, Charlene Kaye S. MT 14 SECTION C – Exercise I February 02, 2021

▪ quality assurance;
▪ workload and management reporting;
▪ analytical reporting;
▪ workflow management;
▪ billing, and
▪ third-party software integration.”

According to https://www.autoscribeinformatics.com/resources/blog/what-is-a-
lims, the benefits of LIS are the following:
Source: What are the Benefits and Advantages of LIMS? (n.d.). Autoscribe Informatics. Retrieved
February 6, 2021, from https://www.autoscribeinformatics.com/resources/blog/what-is-a-lims

• “Its accuracy helps labs produce accurate, repeatable results;

• its efficiency helps labs to automate and speed up laborious tasks, and
• its management helps labs store and retrieve results quickly.”

Example:
SampleManager LIMS is a laboratory information management system used
widely in the management of data and resources as well as operational and
automation support (List of Top Laboratory Information Management Systems
2021, n.d.).

4. Hospital Patient Administration Systems (PAS)

Patient Administration System or PAS is considered as the backbone among the
various healthy systems. It has become essential for day-to-day management and
administration of a hospital. It is a system designated to record and track a patient’s
non-clinical information and the activities they have across different care settings. In
this system, a shared electronic record of the patient is made containing their health
information and progress. The relevant information taken from this system can help or
assist in setting schedules efficiently and increasing productivity. What’s
advantageous about this system is that it can easily enter information about patients
and be viewed across different departments. Without the modern-day PAS, the
administration of a hospital would be harder because reporting is completed through
paper forms. Having PAS is a great addition to a hospital’s IT infrastructure because
at a click of a button, you can easily enter or access the data of the patients (Dinsdale,
2019). Furthermore, Dinsdale (2019) mentioned that the functions of PAS are as
follows: “(a) appointment booking, (b) waitlist management, (c) patient admission, and
(d) discharge and transfers.”
Dumanjug, Charlene Kaye S. MT 14 SECTION C – Exercise I February 02, 2021

Examples:

i. Patient Manager (i.PM), developed by iSOFT Group PLCi, is widely

known and used in public hospitals in New Zealand and Australia, and
deployed in Ireland and UK. Through i.PM, accessing patient
information at the point of patient care is made easier (i.Patient
Manager, n.d.).

Based from the source cited below, its benefits include the following:

Source: Patient Management. (n.d.). DXC Technology. Retrieved February 6,

2021, from https://www.dxc.technology/healthcare/offerings/139499/146957-
patient_management

(a) “well suited to co-existing public and private facilities;

(b) simplifies work processes;
(c) ensures accurate data collection with front end edit checks;
(d) enables secure remote access to information and tools;
(e) fully customizable to include hospital-specific information;
(f) easy to learn and intuitive to use;
(g) provides flexible access to complete patient records, and
(h) comprehensive reporting.”

ii. PatientSource Patient Administration System (PAS) is an up to date

and user-friendly system that supports the management of
patients, including managing admissions, tracking patients, ward
attendances and appointments. Its benefits are the following: “(a)
replace outdated legacy PAS; (b) can beat targets such as Referral-
to-Treatment Times (RTT) and 2-week waits; (c) gets even the
busiest outpatient clinics under control, and (d) increases patient
safety by minimising ‘wrong patient’ errors (Patient Administration
System, n.d.).”

5. Human Resource Management Information Systems (HRMIS)

As explained by Gosh (2019), the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is
software or online solution that is utilized for the entry, tracking and management of
data of data in the human resource operations of a certain organization. It is also
called as Human Resources Management System (HRMS) as it effectively aids the
planning and management of human resource. This system makes the operation of
the human resource easier. Luenendonk (2017) also agrees that it helps in easy-man
management. Moreover, Tursunbayeva et al. (2017) emphasized that having an
effective HRIS is beneficial both in financial and clinical aspects because 65-80% of
a health organization’s total operating budget goes to the staff costs.
Dumanjug, Charlene Kaye S. MT 14 SECTION C – Exercise I February 02, 2021

A well-functioning HRIS gathers, stores, and oversees data on human resource

functions such as transfers, promotions, appointment processing, and disciplinary
actions. With this data, it is possible for human resource managers to make informed
decisions on deployment, recruitment, and staff improvement as well as show support
in other ways needed for the health workforce (Human resources information system
for the health sector, n.d.).
As mentioned by Pribanic (2018) in his article “HR Management Systems:
Benefits of HRIS You Can’t Ignore”, the benefits of HRIS are as follows:
Source: Pribanic, E. (2018, February 22). HR Management Systems: Benefits of HRIS You Can’t
Ignore. Techfunnel. Retrieved from https://www.techfunnel.com/hr-tech/hr-management-systems-
benefits-hris-cant-ignore/

• “Self-service options creating greater employee engagement;

• open enrollment benefit;
• employee empowerment;
• collaboration throughout organizations improved;
• training capabilities improved;
• optimized scheduling;
• payroll and employee information errors reduced, and
• analytics and organizational data making more informed decisions.”

Example:
MEDtrix Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is intended to improve
the management of hospital workers and make human resource efforts such as
attendance, payroll, loans management, recruitment, and other requests faster and
easier to attend. Additionally, MEDtrix’s HRIS is integrated in other hospital modules.
Thus, allowing the human resource managers to level up their operational efficiency
and make quality decisions (Human Resource Information System, 2019).
Dumanjug, Charlene Kaye S. MT 14 SECTION C – Exercise I February 02, 2021

References

Aqil, A., Lippeveld, T., & Hozumi, D. (2009). PRISM framework: a paradigm shift for
designing, strengthening and evaluating routine health information systems. Health
policy and planning, 24(3), 217-228.
Changcoco, A., Falsis, B., Kalingo, M., Tan, D., & Tangkeko, M. (2017). Philippine
Disease Surveillance System. Retrieved from
http://xsite.dlsu.edu.ph/conferences/dlsu-research-congress-
proceedings/2017/FNH/FNH-I-009.pdf

Dinsdale, R. (2019, June 6). Why do you need a Patient Administration System? OH Blog.
Retrieved from https://blog.orionhealth.com/why-do-you-need-a-patient-
administration-system/

Edwards, M. (2006). Routine Health Information Systems: Concepts and Methods.

Retrieved from
http://ocw.jhsph.edu/courses/FundamentalsProgramEvaluation/PDFs/Lecture8.pdf

Gosh, P. (2019, September 19). What Is HRIS? System, Model, and Application. HR
Technologist. Retrieved from https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/performance-
management-hcm/what-is-hris/

Hotchkiss, D. R., Diana, M. L., & Foreit, K. G. (2012). How can routine health information
systems improve health systems functioning in low- and middle-income countries?
Assessing the evidence base. Advances in health care management, 12, 25–58.
https://doi.org/10.1108/s1474-8231(2012)0000012006

Human Resource Information System. (2019, October 25). HYBrain - Software and
Outsourcing Services Philippines. Retrieved from
https://www.hybrain.co/products/medtrix/human-resource-information-system

Human resources information system for the health sector. (n.d.). Capacity Kenya.
Retrieved February 6, 2021, from
https://www.intrahealth.org/sites/ihweb/files/files/media/human-resources-
information-system-for-the-health-sector/HRIS-Technical-Brief.pdf

i.Patient Manager (i.PM). (n.d.). Software Informer. Retrieved February 6, 2021, from
https://i-patient-manager-i-pm.software.informer.com/

Importance of Surveillance and Detection in Public Health Initiatives. (n.d.). Retrieved

from https://www.uniteforsight.org/surveillance/module1
Dumanjug, Charlene Kaye S. MT 14 SECTION C – Exercise I February 02, 2021

Laboratory Information System: Common LIS functions. (2020, March 21). LIMSWiki.
Retrieved from https://www.limswiki.org/index.php/Laboratory_information_system

List of Top Laboratory Information Management Systems 2021. (n.d.). Trust Radius.
Retrieved February 6, 2021, from https://www.trustradius.com/laboratory-information-
management

Luenendonk, M. (2017, November 12). Function and Benefits of Human Resource

Information Systems (HRIS). Cleverism. https://www.cleverism.com/lexicon/human-
resource-information-system-hris/

Patient Administration System. (n.d.). PatientSource. Retrieved February 6, 2021, from

https://patientsource.co.uk/patient-administration-system

Patient Management. (n.d.). DXC Technology. Retrieved February 6, 2021, from

https://www.dxc.technology/healthcare/offerings/139499/146957-
patient_management

Pribanic, E. (2018, February 22). HR Management Systems: Benefits of HRIS You Can’t
Ignore. Techfunnel. Retrieved from https://www.techfunnel.com/hr-tech/hr-
management-systems-benefits-hris-cant-ignore/

Routine Health Information Systems. (n.d.). MEASURE Evaluation. Retrieved February

5, 2021, from https://www.measureevaluation.org/our-work/routine-health-information-
systems

Routine Health Information Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.measureevaluation.org/our-work/routine-health-information-systems

Tursunbayeva, A., Bunduchi, R., Franco, M., & Pagliari, C. (2017). Human resource
information systems in health care: a systematic evidence review. Journal of the
American Medical Informatics Association, 24(3), 633-654.

Wagner, M. M., Hogan, W. R., & Aryel, R. M. (2006). The healthcare system. Handbook
of Biosurveillance, 89.

What are the Benefits and Advantages of LIMS? (n.d.). Autoscribe Informatics. Retrieved
February 6, 2021, from https://www.autoscribeinformatics.com/resources/blog/what-
is-a-lims

What is disease surveillance? (2019, August 16). Health Protection Surveillance Centre.
Retrieved from https://www.hpsc.ie/abouthpsc/whatisdiseasesurveillance/