Assessment of the Contribution of HIS Usability towards Quality Health Care in Tanzania Public Regional Referral Hospitals

Abstract

This study focuses on the assessment of the contribution of HIS usability towards quality healthcare services to Tanzania regional referral hospitals, a case study of the Geita Regional Referral Hospital (GRRH). The study divided the research participants into two strata including service providers and service recipients to ensure balanced opinions. The participants were obtained using a stratified simple random sampling technique. The mixed research approach was applied in collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Data were collected using both a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview guide. The findings revealed that the use of ICT has improved the quality of healthcare at GRRH. Additionally, despite the existing challenges such as frequent power outages, lack of instant communication among service providers, lack of proper channel of communication between the hospital and community, and insufficient training, the use of ICT in GRRH showed a remarkable contribution towards quality healthcare provision including waiting time reduction, treatment cost reduction, easy and quick patients data retrieval, equitable service, people-centered or individual preferences, integrated and coordinated care, and efficient care by providing and maximizing the benefits of available resources.