Health Information Systems
Health Information System for Medical Laboratory Science
Prepared by:
Joseph Israel R. Guanlao, RMT, MSMT, MPH
Learning Objectives
• At the end of the lecture, the student should be able to:
1. Define health information system;
2. Discuss the different core indicators of a country’s health
information system performance;
3. Enumerate the different information sources of a health
information system.
Health Information System
• Any system that captures, stores,
manages, or transmits information
related to the health of individuals
or the activities of organizations
that work within the health sector.
• A well-functioning HIS is an
integrated effort to collect, process,
report, and use health information
and knowledge to influence policy
and decision-making, program
action, individual and public health
outcomes, and research.
Health Information System
• Cover different systems that capture,
store, manage, and transmit health-
related information that can be
sourced from individuals or activities
of a health institution.
1. Disease surveillance systems
2. District level routine information system
3. Hospital patient administration systems
(PAS)
4. Human resource management information
systems (HRMIS)
5. Laboratory information systems (LIS)
Key Functions
Different Information in HIS
Health Health System Health System
Determinants Inputs Outputs
Health Health
Outcomes Inequities
Components of HIS
• Resources – legislative, regulatory, and
planning frameworks; personnel,
financing, logistics support, ICT,
coordinating mechanisms.
• Indicators – health determinants, health
system inputs, outputs, outcomes, health
status.
• Sources – population-based or
institution-based.
Components of HIS
• Management – collection, storage,
quality assurance, processing,
compilation, and analysis.
• Information products – basis for
evidence and knowledge to shape health
actions.
• Dissemination and use – accessibility
of generated information to decision-
makers.
Different Levels of Applications
Individual
Health Facility
Population
Public Health Surveillance
Individual Level
• Data on patient’s profile, healthcare
needs, and treatment.
• Basis for clinical decision-making and
sound individual health care.
• Problems can arise when health workers
are overburdened by excessive data and
reporting demands from multiple and
poorly coordinated subsystems.
Healthcare Facility Level
• From aggregated facility-level records and from
administrative sources.
• Enable healthcare managers to:
1. Determine resource needs;
2. Guide purchasing decisions for drugs, equipment,
and supplies;
3. Develop community outreach.
• Provide immediate and ongoing information
relevant to public health decision-making, provided
that the data:
1. Is of high quality;
2. Relates to both public and private facilities;
3. Representative of the services available to the
population as a whole.
Population Level
• Population level data are essential for
public health decision-making and
generate information about healthcare
service utilization.
• Household surveys
✓ Primary source of data in developing countries
where facility-based statistics are of limited
quality.
✓ Good source of information on individual
health beliefs, behaviors, and practices (critical
health determinants).
Public Health Surveillance
• Brings together information from
both facilities and communities.
• Focuses mainly on defining problems
and providing a timely basis for
action.
• Timeliness of reporting and
response, and effective linkages to
those in authority.
Major Health Information
Systems in the Philippines
Philippine Health Information Exchange
• A platform for secure
electronic access and
efficient exchange of health
data and/or information
among health facilities,
healthcare providers, health
information organizations,
and government agencies.
Field Health Service Information System
• The official information system of the DOH that
oversees gathering health data from the field.
• A major component of the network of information
sources developed by the DOH that enable the
agency to better manage nationwide health service
delivery activities.
• An important source of data for the regular health
status monitoring and evaluation along with other
sources.
Field Health Service Information System
• Objectives:
1. To provide data on health service delivery and selected program
accomplishments at local levels;
2. To provide data which, when combined with data from other
sources, can be used for program monitoring and evaluation;
3. To provide a standardized, facility-level database which can be
accessed for more in-depth studies;
4. To minimize the burden of recording and reporting in the service
delivery level in order to allow more time for patient care and
promotive activities.
Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance
and Response
• An enhanced surveillance system that
monitors notifiable diseases and other
health-related events of public health
importance utilizing an integrated approach.
• Key features of PIDSR relating to health data:
1. Effective and efficient management of
surveillance data and use of
information for decision-making,
including monitoring and evaluation of
intervention programs at all levels;
2. Open lines of communication with
established feedback loops at all
levels.
Notifiable Diseases
Category 1 Category 2
Immediately reportable Immediate reporting
diseases / syndromes / upon laboratory Weekly reportable diseases / syndromes / events
events confirmation
1. Acute flaccid paralysis 1. Poliomyelitis 1. Acute bloody diarrhea 13. Neonatal tetanus
2. Anthrax 2. Cholera 2. Acute hemorrhagic 14. Non-neonatal tetanus
3. Human avian influenza 3. Measles fever 15. Paralytic shellfish
4. Severe acute respiratory 4. HIV / AIDS 3. Acute viral hepatitis poisoning
syndrome 4. Acute flaccid paralysis 16. Pertussis
5. Adverse event following 5. Bacterial meningitis 17. Rabies
immunization 6. Cholera 18. Typhoid and
6. Any disease outbreak 7. Dengue paratyphoid fever
7. Any clustering of patients 8. Diphtheria
with similar disease, 9. Influenza
symptoms, or syndromes 10. Japanese encephalitis
8. Meningococcal disease 11. Leptospirosis
12. Malaria
Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies
and Disasters
• An early warning surveillance system that
when activated in post-disaster and extreme
emergency situations:
1. Ensures early detection of increase in
both communicable and non-
communicable diseases;
2. Monitors trends of health conditions;
3. Enables identification of appropriate
response in preventing diseases and
averting deaths.
Key Features of SPEED
1. Utilizes syndromic surveillance;
2. Adopts available ICT such as SMS and the internet for data collection,
analysis, and report generation;
3. Focuses on the 21 most common health conditions encountered after a
disaster;
4. Features an alert notification system that instantaneously cues the health
system where immediate response is most needed;
5. Complements the existing routine surveillance systems.
Mechanism of
SPEED
Applications of SPEED
• September 2010 – Fire, City of Navotas.
• SPEED helped facilitate allocation and mobilization of tetanus toxoid for resident with fire-related injuries.
• October 2010 – Supertyphoon Juan, Paniqui, Tarlac.
• The health trends in evacuation centers were monitored more closely by the local and national government.
• February 2011 – Eruption of Mt. Bulusan, Irosin, Sorsogon.
• Local leaders were able to assess more readily the severity of respiratory problems experienced by residents.
• June 2011 – Flooding in Pigcawayan (Region XII), North Cotabato and North Cabuntalan,
Maguindanao (ARMM).
• Investigation and management of diseases with breached alert threshold were carried out more promptly, thus
decreasing disaster-related morbidities and mortalities.
PIDSR and SPEED
Characteristics PIDSR SPEED
Early detection of unusual increases or occurrence
Early detection of outbreaks and early in communicable and non-communicable
Objective
response diseases/health conditions to provide early
response during emergencies and disasters
Diseases Communicable disease with outbreak 21 communicable and non-communicable diseases
monitored potential common during disasters
Yes, part and parcel of routine No, activated only post-extreme emergencies or
Always activated?
surveillance disasters
Case-based surveillance, lab-based
Path of detection surveillance, and event-based Event-based surveillance
surveillance
Frequency of Weekly for category 2 and within 24 Daily and immediately upon detection when
reporting hours for category 1 Notification Alert Level is breached
References
• HEMS-DOH (2011). Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and
Disaster (SPEED) Operations Manual for Managers (1st Edition).
• NEC-DOH (2014). Manual of Procedures for the Philippine Integrated
Disease Surveillance and Response (3rd Edition).
• Pacific Health Information Network. Health Information System.
http://phinnetwork.org/resources/health-information-systems-his/
