This document discusses how health informatics and leveraging information technology can help hospitals better understand data and make improved decisions. It notes that simply displaying data is not enough and that understanding changing patterns on a daily basis is needed. It outlines the basic IT requirements including software, hardware and networking. Key hospital information system modules are identified like outpatient, admissions/discharges, billing etc. Critical success factors for IT implementation include usability, customization, addressing future needs. Dashboards and visualizations of data on consultations, revenues, patient satisfaction are presented as examples of how data can be analyzed to aid decision making. The document emphasizes that better decisions through understanding data are needed to move beyond just projections based on past performance.