The effect of hospital information systems on healthcare facilities efficiency indicators

Aim. Comparative assessment of an automation facilities influence on labor input and business processes’ productivity indicators related to primary functions of healthcare facilities of different types.

Methods. We performed medical personnel’s work timing in emergency rooms, as well as medical records timing in clinical departments. The automated electronic health records processing while operating hospital information systems created by authors among different types of healthcare facilities was also performed. Output data included personal health record operation periods values and system events timestamps.

Results. The data concerning hospital information systems’ influence on electronic health records operating time changes and hospitalization delays was obtained. A correlation between the initial hospitalization delay and hospital capacity was discovered (r=0.917). The emergency room automation significantly reduces hospitalization delays. Under clinical information system operating conditions, the primary examination time recording increases twice, while the time spent for all other electronic health records decreases in higher order. Considerable difference between primary examination recording time and the time, necessary for other personal health record registrations, has satisfactory interpretation within the heterogeneous medical data sources integration model, but not within usability model. In general, the gained data does not confirm results of previously published researches pointing the increased time doctors spent for data management in automation conditions.

Conclusion. Hospital information systems implementation improved the specialist’s labor productivity and main working processes work capacity. The obtained data indicate a greater influence of automation in large healthcare facilities and reject usability hypothesis of hospital information systems efficiency.