International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | September 2022 | Vol 10 | Issue 9 Page 1889
International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Deepak S et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2022 Sep;10(9):1889-1895
www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012
Original Research Article
Impact of health management information systems on service delivery
among healthcare workers at Iten County Referral Hospital
Stanley K. Kilimo
1
, Michael N. Walekhwa
2
*, Filex O. Otieno
1
INTRODUCTION
Healthcare facilities deal with a lot of record keeping as
part of the standard operating system. Initially, physical
handling of such records was done by health record
officers. In addition, circulating authorized patient
information across system had to be done by physical
means. In recent years, advancement in technology has
made it possible for handling of records in the hospital to
be made paperless.
1
Furthermore, the drive to paperless
mode is also driven by the rising concerns for climate
change associated with carbon footprint of every person.
Most hospitals in developed countries have fully
transitioned to paperless management of hospital
information.
2
However, in developing countries, much is
yet to be done to develop information technologies needed
let alone fully integrating them into health management
systems. Technologies on information systems when
satisfactorily integrated into healthcare improves waiting
time for results from various departments, fastens inter-
department communication and patient processing and
1
School of Pharmacy,
2
School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Kabarak University, Kabarak, Nakuru, Kenya
Received: 24 May 2022
Revised: 13 June 2022
Accepted: 07 July 2022
*Correspondence:
Dr. Michael N. Walekhwa,
E-mail: walekhwam@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
Background: Decision-making process and effective planning within the health sector relies majorly on availability of
reliable, accurate and prompt information. Most referral healthcare facilities in Kenya utilize health management
information systems (HMIS) yet delivery of effective services remains relatively challenging. Against this backdrop,
we assessed the impact of use of HMIS on service delivery among healthcare workers at Iten County Referral Hospital
(ICRH).
Methods: This study used a cross-sectional study design target population was all healthcare workers at ICRH. Closed
and open-ended questionnaires were used to obtain data. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to
select study site and participants respectively. The sample size was 185 healthcare workers but 142 participants filled
out the questionnaire.
Results: Most respondents were nurses (37.4%). Least cohort were pharmacists (1.40%). About 62.7% were diploma-
holders, 26.8% had a bachelor’s degree. Further, 66.9% of participants had <10 years working experience, 22.5% had
11-20 years while; 10.6% had 21-30 years. Participants (26.1-47.2%) agreed that using HMIS is efficient and effective
for managing hospital data. Majority were undecided whether HMIS can be used for managing financial imperatives
and providing epidemiological data. Participants (77.5%) rated HMIS as being user-friendly. Remarkably, 22.5% rated
the HMIS as suitable for use as a centralized planning system for the hospital. Data also showed that HMIS is yet to be
fully integrated into the hospital system.
Conclusions: The use of HMIS has positively impacted service-delivery at ICRH. We therefore recommend that
healthcare facilities integrate the use of HMIS in management of hospital data.
Keywords: Health information management system, Health information technology, Information systems
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20222264