The what, why, and how of health information systems: a systematic review
Loading...
Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Sub-Saharan Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSJSSH)
Abstract
The literature on the topic of health information systems (HISs) is reviewed in this paper. Specifically, the paper
reviews the literature on (i) the theoretical concept of HISs (The What), (ii) the rationale, purposes, and importance (The
Why), and (iii) the operationalization of the HISs (The How). For this systematic review, we searched Research Gate, Science
Direct, Google Scholar, JSTOR, ProQuest, Scopus, PMC, BMJ, PubMed, and published documents by World Health
Organization (WHO). Only 35 articles out of 1,400 articles identified were included in the study depending on the 3
contextualised questions i.e., the what, why, and how of the HISs. Literature published between 1960 and 2021 were
considered in the review as the concept of HIS was introduced in the 1960s, excluding literature published before the 1960s
and non-English publications. Generally, the HISs is one of the six pillars that make up a strong health system, designed to
collect, process, store and manage health information. The main goal of the HISs is to deliver quality services. The
importance of these systems includes quick access to medical records, sharing of patient information, reducing paperwork,
reducing medical errors, improve the quality of care. Therefore, there is a great need to promote this concept, taking into
account its rationale, purposes, and importance of it in the health care system.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
Health information systems, Health system, Health service delivery, Systematic review