Evaluation of hospital information system in the Northern Province in South Africa - Using Outcome Measures

As a response to national strategy and in recognition of provincial need, in 1998 the Northern Province started to implement an integrated computerised Hospital Information System (HIS) in its 42 hospitals. The decision to implement HIS in this province coincided with the provincial need to restructure services, which involved shifting resources from tertiary and secondary care levels to the primary care level. Hospital Information System (HIS) was one of the restructuring strategies in the Northern province. In view of the considerable expenditure and importance of implementing HIS for provincial as well as national health care services, it was important to evaluate implementation of HIS. The aim of the study was to assess how the HIS had met its objectives and to provide lessons that can be learned from this evaluation process.