This document defines and outlines the objectives and components of a health information management system (HIMS). A HIMS is a mechanism for collecting, processing, analyzing, and transmitting health-related information needed to organize and operate health services, conduct research, and provide training. The primary objectives of a HIMS are to provide reliable and up-to-date health information to managers at all levels, enable technical information sharing among health personnel, and provide periodic data on health service performance and trends. Key components of a HIMS include demography, health status, health resources, service utilization rates, and health outcomes. Important uses of HIMS data include measuring population health problems, facilitating health planning and management, assessing health service effectiveness and efficiency,

1. Health Information
Dr Jayaramachandran S
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Community Medicine
MGMC & RI

2. Definition
• A mechanism for the
• collection, processing, analysis and transmission of information
• required for organizing and operation health services,
• and also for research and training

3. Primary objective
• Provide Reliable, relevant, up-to-date, adequate , timely and reasonable
complete information for health managers at all levels
• and to the sharing of technical and scientific information by all the health
personnel participating in the health service of a country;
• also to provide at periodic intervals,
• data that will show the general performance of the health services
• and to assist the planners in studying their current functioning and trends in
demand and work load

4. Distinction between data and information
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5. Requirements of HIMS
• Population based
• Avoid unnecessary agglomeration of data
• Problem oriented
• Employ functional and operational terms (episodes of illness, treatment regimen,
lab tests)
• Express information briefly and imaginatively (tables, charts)
• Provision for feedback

6. Components of HIMS
• Demography and vital events
• Environment health statistics
• Health status : morbidity, mortality, disability and quality of life
• Health resources : facilities, beds, manpower
• Utilization and non-utilization of health services : attendance, admission, waiting
lists
• Indices of outcome of medical care
• Financial statistics

7. Uses of HIMS
• Measure the health status of the people and quantify their health
problems and medical and health care needs
• Local, national & international comparisons of health status –
standardization
• For planning, administration and effective management of health services
and programmes
• For assessing whether health services are accomplishing their objective in
terms of their effectiveness and efficiency
• For assessing attitude and degree of satisfaction of their beneficiaries with
the health system
• For research into particular problem of health and disease

8. Sources
1. Census
2. Registration of vital events
3. Sample registration systems (SRS)
4. Notification of diseases
5. Hospital records
6. Disease registers
7. Record linkages
8. Epidemiological surveillance
9. Other health record services
10. Environmental health data
11. Health manpower statistics
12. Population surveys
13. Other routine statistics related to
health
14. Non-quantifiable information