Development of an integrated child health information system for children who are deaf or hard of hearing

Abstract

Young children who are deaf or hard of hearing typically participate in health and early intervention service structures involving multiple agencies and service providers, all of whom may be responsive to a child's and family's needs, but remain mutually distinct with minimal interdependence. Lack of coordination may result in fragmented service delivery and may be counterproductive to the provision of family centred services. Increasingly, advancements in technology, such as the development of integrated child health information systems, have facilitated greater coordination and integration of service delivery in multidisciplinary and multisite program contexts. In the present article, the process of developing an integrated child health information system for a new provincial early hearing detection and intervention program in British Columbia is described. Key considerations for system development included the following: the nature of the preprogram structure for information management and sharing; the need for modifications of the structure; and ways that the structure could be improved.