National Health Information Systems in Korea

This study describes the current status of computerization for hospitals and makes various recommendations to improve the level of computerization and information sharing between hospitals in order to strengthen the National Health Information System (NHIS). According to a survey of 314 out of 1,289 hospitals in August 2005, the computerization level was higher for the specialty tertiary hospitals and general hospitals than for smaller hospitals. The computerization rate by applications was 75.6% for outpatient CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry System), 70.6% for inpatient CPOE, 47.1% for PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System), and 20.7% for outpatient EMR (Electronic Medical Record). In addition, this paper also presents the NHIS plan in Korea and the survey results that examined to identify the user requirements for the electronic health record (EHR), which is a core element of NHIS. According to a survey conducted in May 2005 of 317 people, ranging from community residents, health workers, and information systems people, most people responded that development of EHR was necessary and that they were willing to use it actively. With regard to key information included in EHR, they made the following recommendations in order: test results, health program, medical examination, immunization, allergy, information about medication and medical treatment, health behavior, genetic information, cause of death, and medical charge information. Most of the respondents wanted to apply EHR to the management of chronic diseases, but they were concerned about the security of private medical information. Based on the results, recommendations for development and implementation strategies were presented. Keyword: national health information system, standards, electronic health records