Ict- Led Hospital Information System In The Management Of Health Services With Particular Reference To University Of Ghana Hospital, Legon.

ABSTRACT The study investigated ICT- led hospital information system in the management of health services with particular reference to University of Ghana Hospital, Legon. The study utilized the qualitative method. Through the purposive sampling technique, 12 participants were selected for the study. The participants included 1 medical director, 1 administrator and 10 departments and unit heads of the Hospital. The qualitative instrument used for primary data collection was an interview guide. The findings of the study revealed that the Hospital has over a decade implemented two Hospital Information System (HIS) namely: System Consult (SC) (old software) and Equipment Business Frame (EBF) (New Software). It was found that the SC was implemented alongside the manual system using the parallel implementation approach, whilst the EBF was implemented using the direct conversion and hybrid implementation approaches. It was discovered that the process of implementation of the SC was difficult, expensive and the existence of the manual process did not motivate employees or staff to use the software as compared to the EBF which was found to be easier. The effect of the EBF on service delivery was found to be positive and reliable as compared to the SC which was negative and nonreliable. The basic elements underpinning the utilization of the HIS were access and use. Significant factors that propelled the effective implementation and use of the EBF were effective collaboration between staff and service providers, and the cost saving nature of the EBF, adequate training and education, easier use of the software, and the role of the medical director. Moreover, with regards to use, it was found that the SC had significant number of constraints including fewer staff that could use it, expensive nature of the SC, not getting value for money, poor records keeping, inability to do follow up, slower pace of work, unable to raise proper bill, delay in reporting, delay in laboratory result and frequent folder misplacement. In conclusion, the study suggests that the implementation of the HIS in the University of Ghana Hospital focused critically on stakeholders integration of the Hospital whilst exploiting recent development within cloud technologies. On the basis of the constraints, the following recommendations were made. The Hospital should liaise effectively with the University of Ghana Computing Systems so that technical challenges such as network issues and computers are working adequately. Further, the Hospital must also continually ensure that HIS are upgraded, most especially the modules. This will help meet the changing demands of patients and the university community.