Back to Search
Start Over
Sustainability of health information systems in developing countries: the case of Fiji.
- Source :
-
Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia [Health Inf Manag] 2012; Vol. 41 (3), pp. 13-9. - Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- This paper examines the future sustainability of the Fijian Ministry of Health's (MoH) information and communication technology (ITC) system for patient management (PATIS). PATIS was developed with AusAID funding and, as the owner of the system, AusAID has no commercial competence or interest in further development of the system. Thus, the question that arises is: should Fiji adopt a commercially available patient administration system or retain the existing PATIS? In-depth consultations with senior executives and line managers of units that were major users of PATIS were undertaken. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion approaches were utilised. The consensus or majority views of the users were that the existing PATIS performed more than adequately. The future sustainability of the system is threatened by the lack of investment in resources (e.g. hardware maintenance and human resources) required to keep the system operating at its optimum. It was found that PATIS provides Fiji with a satisfactory patient administration system. The identified problems with the system are not related to the application per se but rather to an under-investment in resources for its utilisation.
- Subjects :
- Administrative Personnel
Australia
Developing Countries economics
Fiji
Financial Support
Financing, Government
Focus Groups
Health Information Systems economics
Health Information Systems instrumentation
Health Plan Implementation economics
Health Plan Implementation organization & administration
Humans
International Cooperation
Interviews as Topic
Program Evaluation methods
Program Evaluation standards
Samoa
Socioeconomic Factors
Telecommunications economics
Telecommunications instrumentation
Telecommunications organization & administration
Attitude of Health Personnel
Health Information Systems organization & administration
Health Plan Implementation methods
Program Evaluation economics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1833-3575
- Volume :
- 41
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 23087079
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/183335831204100302