Factor Analysis-Based Assessment of Hospital Information Systems: A Survey of Hospitals Located in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area

Abstract

The complexity of hospitals increasingly requires reliable information to support managers’ decision-making processes. Hospital information systems (HIS) are tools deemed as essential in this context, but in practice hospitals still need to bridge the gap between the management information needs and the information actually provided by the systems. The objective of the research herein reported is threefold: (i) evaluating the HIS currently in use in hospitals; (ii) identifying limitations and flaws in these systems; and (iii) eliciting relevant attributes to be considered when developing, implementing and maintaining such systems. The research was based on a survey approaching 60 managers from 14 hospitals located in the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Area. They answered questionnaires including open and closed questions. An evaluation model based on 17 attributes was used to address the first objective. Another model approached a set of 20 open questions to attain the second objective. Subsequently, all questions were used to accomplish the third objective. Data analysis was carried out in three phases, namely: (i) descriptive statistics-based evaluation of users’ satisfaction; (ii) correlation analysis between the attributes, which built on a common factors analysis; and (iii) factor analysis aiming at determining the most relevant attributes for developing, implementing and maintaining HIS. The managers’ evaluation of the systems and the information they generated is average (regular), the integration attribute having received the worse evaluation. The most relevant attributes were: systems architecture, interface design, usability, information handling, and decision support. These attributes should thus be taken into consideration for HIS design, implementation and maintenance. Furthermore, the analysis of the answers to open questions pointed to three attributes that qualify a HIS as effective: information completeness, information presentation, and information system auditing. Presentation is particularly an attribute that is directly related to clearness and concision, two of the attributes of the evaluation analysis model used in the research. Key-words: hospitals, information management, systems evaluation, hospital information system