Evaluation of the performance of the Hospital Information System in Yalgado Ouédraogo university teaching hospital, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Health information is one of the six pillars of the health system. It is key in planning and decision-making in the health sector. However, having noted the lack of data quality, low use of the information and the Hospital Information System (HIS) in low-income countries including Burkina Faso, our study aim to contribute through an evaluation of the performance of HIS in a tertiary hospital using PRISM framework. This approaches the HIS from its performance, based on data quality and use of information. The study population was the care units, and planning and hospital information services. Within each service, data collectors, users and managers as well as decision makers at the head of the hospital administration were surveyed. These are key stakeholders involved in the management of HIS in the different clinical care units and in the service in charge of the information system at the teaching hospital directorate. It was a cross-sectional study with a mixed sequential and explanatory design (a quantitative followed by a qualitative approach) which evaluated the quality of data, the use of information, the promotion of the culture of information utilization, the process and technical determinants in the hospital using the PRISM framework.
All the units and services were successfully surveyed. All care units supervisors in charge of data collection, as well as 90.77 % (n=65) of data users (supervisors and head of service) in clinical care units and managers at hospital information service were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight decision-makers in the hospital at the directorate. Data quality assessment revealed 77% of completeness of monthly reports, 53.7% of timeliness of transmission of reports and 22.4% as data accuracy index. This was very low in clinical services.
Utilization of information for decision making and advocacy as well as promoting the culture of utilization of information were also at low level: 11% of mean utilization rate and 17.5% for the promotion of the culture of utilization of information. In addition, the analysis of the process and technical determinants of the HIS has shown that beside registries availability and ease of use of the monthly reports templates, all the other components were null (0.0%). The assessment showed that the HIS in place at Yalgado Ouedraogo was very weak in all its dimensions. Consequently, le HIS should be strengthened through actions able to improve its performance.