We studied the information flow in an emergency department (ED) to understand how patient information was received and shared between providers and how information from a computerized ambulatory system, which was not well-integrated with the hospital information system at that time, could be used. The study was aimed at identifying possible methods that could push information from the ambulator...

BACKGROUND Increasing application and use of information systems and mobile technologies in the healthcare industry require increasing nurse competency in computer use. Computer literacy is defined as basic computer skills, whereas computer competency is defined as the computer skills necessary to accomplish job tasks. Inadequate attention has been paid to computer literacy and computer compete...

The paper describes the problem of heterogeneous databases, discusses the need for an integrated hospital information system and provides a five-step method for integrating heterogeneous databases in the hospital environment. The scope of this method facilitates the integration of medical, administrative and fiscal information elements of a hospital into a unified environment.

The eSource Data Interchange Group, part of the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium, proposed five scenarios to guide stakeholders in the development of solutions for the capture of eSource data. The fifth scenario was subdivided into four tiers to adapt the functionality of electronic health records to support clinical research. In order to develop a system belonging to the “Interop...

OBJECTIVES In hospitals, the pharmacy information system (PIS) is usually a sub-system of the hospital information system (HIS). The PIS supports the distribution and management of drugs, shows drug and medical device inventory, and facilitates preparing needed reports. In this study, pharmacy information systems implemented in general teaching hospitals affiliated to medical universities in Te...

BACKGROUND Spatial epidemiology is useful but difficult to apply in developing countries due to the low availability of digitized maps and address systems, accurate population distributions, and computational tools. A community-based mapping approach was used to demonstrate that participatory geographic information system (PGIS) techniques can provide information helpful for health and communit...

Nagoya University Hospital has developed a new, comprehensive computerized hospital administration system since April 1992. In the present study, a user's evaluation questionnaire survey on the order entry system revealed that the improvements at the human interface level were appreciated by some respondents, but not all users felt the human interface provided, adequately meets their needs. Ano...

BACKGROUND The identification of suitable patients is a common problem in clinical trials that is especially evident in tertiary care hospitals. METHODS We developed and analysed a workflow, which uses routine data captured during patient care in a hospital information system (HIS), to identify potential trial subjects. Study nurses or physicians are notified automatically by email and verify...

BACKGROUND Hospital information systems (HISs) are widely used in Taiwan, and HIS performance must be carefully evaluated. Nursing personnel are the largest group of staff in a hospital and are the center of care delivery; thus, they play an important role in the adoption and evaluation of HISs. PURPOSE The primary objective of this study was to explore the critical factors affecting the acce...

We implemented hospital information system (HIS) alerts to deter unnecessary test orders for ovum and parasite (O&P) exams and Clostridium difficile PCR. The HIS alerts decreased noncompliant O&P orders (orders after >72 h of hospitalization) from 49.8% to 30.9%, an overall decrease of 19%, and reduced noncompliant C. difficile PCR orders (orders <7 days after a previous positive result) from 3...