Dambadeniya Base Hospital goes high tech with ICTA-initiated HHIMS

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA)-initiated Hospital Health Information Management System (HHIMS) was launched at the Dambadeniya Base Hospital on 31 January 2014. Coinciding with the upcoming ‘Deyata Kirula’ National Exhibition 2014, the inauguration at the Dambadeniya Hospital took place under the patronage of Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya. ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura, North Western Province Health Director Dr. R.M.D. Ratnayake, Dr. Premith Shantilatha, Dr. Yasith Maya Bandara and Kurunegala District MP Shantha Bandara also participated in the launch.

The ICTA says that the objective of the introduction of this system at this hospital is to increase ICT facilities in the area in conjunction with Deyata Kirula. Currently the benefits from the HHIMS are experienced by several hospitals in the island. With the installation of this system, information about all steps a patient goes through from registration on arrival to leaving the hospital will be automated. While a number will be assigned to the patient on arrival, all services provided to him will be automated under that number. This will greatly facilitate providing treatment to him as well as enable offering an efficient service to the patient especially on his future visits. Thanks to this system, the time spent by the patient from arrival at the hospital to leaving it after receiving treatment will be reduced to about half. In addition when a patient is transferred from one hospital to another; this will facilitate accessing his previous medical reports through the internet. While information about the stock of drugs in the hospital as well as information like particulars about the hospital’s infrastructure facilities will be automated, this will greatly facilitate the administration of hospital services.

The HHIMS stores the clinical details of patients treated and has been designed for use by clinical staff - details are recorded on the system as they examine the patient. The system enables hospital staff to refer previous clinical records when the patient comes in for treatment. It also enables them to print visit slips or discharge letters for patients, quarterly health statistics and prepare notifications of infectious diseases for the local Medical Officers of Health. The software will thus significantly reduce the need for maintaining paper based records and enable an improved and efficient service to the patient. It also offers many advantages to higher level decision makers in the health care administration in Sri Lanka – it can help detect and control emerging and endemic health problems. It can monitor progress towards health goals, and promote equity in health care by empowering the citizen with timely and relevant health-related information, and improve quality of service. From the point of view of the policy maker it strengthens the evidence base for formulating effective health policies, permitting evaluation of scale-up efforts. It also enables innovation through research and improves efficient use of resources by way of effective stock controls. From a clinical perspective the HHIMS improves quality by giving timely access to important clinical information, mobilising new resources, and ensuring accountability in the way they are used.