Sustainability of health information systems in developing countries: the case of Fiji
Article
Article Title | Sustainability of health information systems in developing countries: the case of Fiji |
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ERA Journal ID | 40651 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Soar, Jeffrey (Author), Gow, Jeff (Author) and Caniogo, Vili (Author) |
Editors | Morrison, Liz |
Journal Title | Health Information Management Journal |
Journal Citation | 41 (3), pp. 13-19 |
Number of Pages | 7 |
Year | 2012 |
Place of Publication | Australia |
ISSN | 1322-4913 |
1833-3575 | |
1833-3583 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1177/183335831204100302 |
Web Address (URL) | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/183335831204100302 |
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. |
Keywords | Fiji; medical informatics; health information technology; patients |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 451706. Pacific Peoples information and knowledge management systems |
420399. Health services and systems not elsewhere classified | |
350303. Business information systems | |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | Collaboration for Ageing and Aged-Care Informatics Research |
School of Accounting, Economics and Finance | |
Australian Agency for International Development, Solomon Islands | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q18x2/sustainability-of-health-information-systems-in-developing-countries-the-case-of-fiji
2049
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