Management of Health Information Technology in Indian Hospitals

Abstract

As more and more Indian hospitals have started looking at and implementing health information technology (HIT) solutions for the future, a need to understand the issues in management of HIT is strongly felt. This study aims to understand the elements in making HIT a success in Indian hospitals. A focus group discussion was carried out with 10 administrators from three super-specialty hospitals in Karnataka, India, during the first week of May 2008. The discussion was moderated by the author herself. They were asked to list out elements for success of HIT in Indian hospitals. Their answers were grouped together into specific headings and then importance of each element was further discussed to understand their viewpoint better. A final question on the reason for slow HIT implementation in Indian healthcare industry was also asked. The administrators listed importance of leadership, human resource accounting, management of scarce resources, communication and involvement of all stakeholders, continuous availability of fund throughout HIT project, abiding by national and organizational rules and policies, mechanism for proper feed forward policy instead of just feedback, and regular evaluation as the elements needed for success of HIT in Indian hospitals. Not fully understanding the value of investment in health information technology was quoted as the reason for slow HIT implementation in Indian healthcare industry. The administrators of Indian hospitals were of the opinion that a proactive leadership involving all stakeholders with effective technical and financial policies in place would eventually succeed in implementing HIT.