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The public health sector in South Korea introduced district health information systems (DHIS) in health centres in the early 1990s. DHIS aimed to help health centres to provide comprehensive health care services and to achieve effective and efficient management of their works. District health information systems are still being implemented in health centres. Information generated and collected through the systems is to be used by local authorities to plan and manage health services in their areas, and further by the central government to make a health plan and health policy at the national level. However, the adoption and implementation of DHIS by health centres does not meet the initial anticipation. Moreover, reasons for that have not been explored yet. This paper presents the development of DHIS for health centres in Korea, evaluates the project focusing on impacts and problems found in implementing the systems, and provides lessons and recommendations for establishing a nationwide health information network.

Discusses the national health information system in Brazil which, until very recently, consisted of two main structures of health services with a dichotomy between curative and preventive health care acting in a vertical manner. The autonomy of health authorities and specialized structures created numerous independent health information systems with different methods of data collection. Although the issues of decentralization and a unified health system had been agreed on in 1963, they had not been implemented until the new health policy reform was lunched in 1988. The reform was based on the strengthening of primary health care at national level and accelerating decentralization of health systems. However, in spite of strong political will the new health managers at local level are lacking essential information, data and instruments that only a decentralized health management information system can provide. Based on a study conducted in the Ceara State of the north east of Brazil, explores how the present health information system can support the process of decentralization.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

Purpose – Health system performance depends on production and use of quality health data and information. Routine health information systems (RHIS) are defined as systems that provide information at regular intervals of a year or less to meet predictable information needs. These include paper-based or electronic health records and facility- and district-level management information systems. RHIS are receiving increasing attention as an essential component of efficient, country-owned, integrated national systems. To guide investment decisions on RHIS, evidence is needed on which types of RHIS interventions work and which do not.

Design/methodology/approach – This chapter is a systematic review of the literature on the evaluation of RHIS interventions in low- and middle-income countries, starting from the premise that investments in RHIS could be better understood and so produce greater benefits than they currently do.

Findings – We describe the conceptual literature on the determinants of RHIS performance and its role in improving health systems functioning, discuss the evidence base on the effectiveness of strategies to improve RHIS performance, provide an overview of RHIS evaluation challenges, and make suggestions to improve the evidence base.

Originality/value – The goal is to help ensure that (a) RHIS interventions are appropriately designed and implemented to improve health systems functioning and (b) resulting RHIS information is used more effectively.

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate one core research question: How can health information technology (HIT) be assessed in a national health care system context?

Design/methodology – We examine this question by taking a systematic approach within a national care system, in which the purpose of HIT is to contribute to a common national health care system's goal: to promote population health in an efficient way. Based on this approach we first develop a framework and our criteria of assessment, and then using Taiwan as a case study, demonstrate how one can apply this framework to assess a national system's HIT. The five criteria we developed are how well does the HIT (1) provide accessible and accurate public health and health care information to the population; (2) collect and provide population health and health care data for government and researchers to analyze population health and processes and outcomes of health care services; (3) provide accessible and timely information that helps to improve provision of cost-effective health care at an institutional level and promotes system-wide efficiency; (4) minimize transaction and administrative costs of the health care system; and (5) establish channels for population participation in governance while also protecting individual privacy.

Findings – The results indicate that Taiwan has high levels of achievement in two criteria while falling short in the other three. Major lessons we learned from this study are that HIT exists to serve a health care system, and the national health care system context dictates how one assesses its HIT.

Originality/value – There is a large body of literature published on the implementation of HIT and its impact on the quality and cost of health care delivery. The vast majority of the literature, however, is focused on a micro institutional level such as a hospital or a bit higher up, on an HMO or health insurance firm. Few have gone further to evaluate the implementation of HIT and its impact on a national health care system. The lack of such research motivated this study. The major contributions of this study are (i) to develop a framework that follows systems thinking principles and (ii) propose a process through which a nation can identify its objectives for HIT and systematically assess its national HIT system. Using Taiwan's national health care system as a case study, this paper demonstrated how it can be done.

Nations such as the USA are investing in technologies such as electronic health records in order to collect, store and transfer information across boundaries of health care, public health and research. Health information brokers such as health care providers, public health departments and university researchers function as “access points” to manage relationships between the public and the health system. The relationship between the public and health information brokers is influenced by trust; and this relationship may predict the trust that the public has in the health system as a whole, which has implications for public trust in the system, and consequently, legitimacy of involved institutions, under circumstances of health information data sharing in the future. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this study, the authors aimed to examine characteristics of trustors (i.e. the public) that predict trust in health information brokers; and further, to identify the factors that influence trust in brokers that also predict system trust. The authors developed a survey that was administered to US respondents in 2014 using GfK’s nationally representative sample, with a final sample of 1,011 participants and conducted ordinary least squares regression for data analyses.

Results suggest that health care providers are the most trusted information brokers of those examined. Beliefs about medical deceptive behavior were negatively associated with trust in each of the information brokers examined; however, psychosocial factors were significantly associated with trust in brokers, suggesting that individual attitudes and beliefs are influential on trust in brokers. Positive views of information sharing and the expectation of benefits of information sharing for health outcomes and health care quality are associated with system trust.

This study suggests that demonstrating the benefits and value of information sharing could be beneficial for building public trust in the health system; however, trust in brokers of information are variable across the public; that is, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs are associated with the level of trust different individuals have in various health information brokers – suggesting that the need for a personalized approach to building trust.

In a technological age where and how does the health sector fit in? Have hospitals and other health agencies that are updated technologically also advanced in other areas of service and operation?

This paper aims to report some findings of a study that investigated health information systems (HISs) in Namibia with a view of establishing the nature of these systems and coming up with recommendations on how these could be enhanced.

This study applied a mixed methods research approach, using interviews and survey questionnaire to collect data. Survey data were analysed for descriptive statistics using SPSS and data from interviews were analysed applying content analysis for data analysis.

The findings of this study indicate fragmented HISs resulting in duplication of diagnosis, tests and treatment. The findings show that there were errors in capturing data into the systems, which could compromise the reliability of the data and compromise service delivery.

This study was limited to two (Khomas and Oshana) of the fourteen regions in Namibia; therefore, further studies could look at other regions, as the study findings cannot be generalised to the entire country.

The findings and recommendations, particularly those relating to the public health sector, could inform policies and procedures, especially those relating to the patient health passport (card), and the way health information is shared within and across health sectors.

This study focused on health information sharing, whereas a previous study on HISs concentrated on quality of healthcare.

This paper provides an overview of the range and development of health informatics, with examples from the literature world wide covering the types of information involved, the areas of application, the impact of evidence based medicine and other professional issues, integrated information systems, and the needs of the public, patients and their carers. While medical informatics certainly comprises a major part of health informatics it is not the main focus of this paper. Medical informatics is the older term and involves the use of information technology and computing specifically for medical science research, and the diagnosis and treatment of disease involving, for example, X‐rays, imaging, resonance, and magnetic scanning techniques. Rather, the scope of this review is the literature relating to the wider concept of the management of information through the interdisciplinary application of information science and technology for the benefit of patients, scientists, managers, staff, and carers involved in the whole range of healthcare activity.

A number of researchers have drawn attention to the way in which information systems development is an inherently political activity. Using the critical social theory of Jurgen Habermas, discusses the development of an information system in mental health. Using critical ethnography, reveals otherwise hidden agendas, power and managerial assumptions to be deeply embedded in the project. Raises broader questions about the extent to which information systems can be seen as “colonizing mechanisms”.