AUTOMATED HOSPITAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND SERVICE DELIVERY OF TEACHING HOSPITALS
Abstract
Automated Hospital Information Systems (AHIS) are comprehensive, integrated information systems designed to manage all the aspects of a hospital's operation, such as medical, administrative, financial, and legal issues and the corresponding processing of services (Hoover and Leonard, 2018). An Automated Hospital Information System (AHIS) is an element of health informatics that focuses mainly on the administrative and operative needs of hospitals.Ogbobe (2011) described Automated Hospital Information Systems (AHISs) as computerized medical information systems that collect, store and display patient information. They deal with drug, equipment, human resources and other relevant information. They are means to create legible and organized patient data and to access clinical information about individual patients. Automated hospital information systems are intended to support existing (often paper based) medical records which are already familiar to practitioners. Patient records have been stored in paper form for centuries and, over this period of time, they have consumed increasing space and notably delayed access to efficient medical care. In contrast, automated hospital information systems store individual patient clinical information electronically and enable instant availability of this information to all providers in the healthcare chain and so assist in providing coherent and consistent care.
The advantages of automated hospital information system can be summarized, according to Amarasingham, Diener-West, Weiner, Lehmann, Herbers, &Powe, (2006: 220) as "optimizing the documentation of patient encounters, improving communication of information to physicians, improving access to patient medical information, reduction of errors, optimizing billing and improving reimbursement for services, forming a data repository for research and quality improvement, and reduction of paper". For the purpose of this study, the following dimensions of automated hospital information systems as buttressed by (Mohammed, 2018) were adopted:
Laboratory Information System (LIS), Radiology Information System (RIS) and Nursing Information System. These are discussed subsequently.
Laboratory Information System (LIS): Laboratory information system is an integrated and comprehensive software that is used for the collection, storage, management, and retrieval of data from clinical laboratories (Mohammed, 2018).It automates the workflow of all information related to total testing process (Lukic, 2017). In the last few decades, medical laboratories have experienced dramatic transformation due to automation and development of information technology. Electronic request enhances the quality of communication between laboratory and clinicians. Moreover, LIS performs automated printing of receipts and bills for analyses which patients pay at admission desk. Printing of patient’s informed consent for venipuncture is also automated (Lima-Oliveira, Lippi, Luca, Picheth, &Cesare, 2015). By entering patient’s information and test orders in LIS, it generates electronic invoice for health insurance organization, without any further need for additional actions of admission personnel. Complete electronic register of patients is printed at the end of the day so that personnel are not required to manually write paper register in order to be in accordance with legislature.
Radiology Information System (RIS): A radiology information system (RIS) is a networked software system for managing medical imagery and associated data (The Royal College of Radiologists, 2008). A RIS is especially useful for tracking radiology imaging orders and billing information, and is often used in conjunction with Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and Vendor Neutral Archives (VNAs) to manage image archives, record-keeping and billing. A RIS is a computer system designed to support operational workflow and business analysis within a radiology department. A RIS is also a repository of patient data and reports, and contributes to the electronic patient record....[......]