Traditional Paper-based System Research Articles

Administrative and legal framework for the introduction of the electronic notarial system in Ukraine

The article is dedicated to the study of the administrative and legal foundations for the implementation of the electronic notarial system in Ukraine. The author examines the process of transitioning from the traditional paper-based notarial system to a digital one, highlighting the benefits of increased efficiency, document security, and accessibility. The study focuses on the phased approach adopted by the government to implement the e-notary system, outlining key stages such as the creation of electronic registries, the development of a digital archive for notarial acts, and the introduction of a system for online notarial services. These developments represent a significant modernization of Ukraine’s notarial services. The author emphasizes the need for substantial legal reforms to support the full-scale digitalization of notarial services. It is highlighted that the Ukrainian Law on Notariate currently lacks explicit provisions for the use of digital technologies, which necessitates amendments to accommodate electronic notarial acts, remote notarization, and the integration of digital signatures. Additionally, the article discusses the challenge of aligning the e-notary system with European standards, especially regarding the cross-border recognition of electronic documents. The alignment of Ukrainian notarial laws with international frameworks is crucial for ensuring the system’s compatibility with global legal standards. The article identifies several key advantages of the e-notary system, including the automation of processes, which significantly reduces the time and administrative burden involved in notarial acts. Enhanced security measures, such as digital signatures and QR codes, provide protection against forgery and unauthorized alterations of notarial documents. Furthermore, the integration of the e-notary system with state databases facilitates efficient information exchange, thereby improving the accuracy and reliability of notarial services. These factors contribute to a more transparent and effective notarial system that can better meet the needs of modern society. Of particular note is the author’s focus on the importance of cybersecurity and data protection in ensuring the long-term success of the e-notary system. The article underscores the need for robust security measures to protect sensitive legal information from cyber threats, which are increasingly becoming a concern in the digital age. The author concludes by outlining prospects for further research, particularly in the areas of legal reform, public trust in digital notarial services, and the technological infrastructure needed to ensure the resilience and security of the electronic notarial system.

The Role of E-Government in the Promotion of Municipal Service Delivery in South Africa

The advent of the fourth industrial revolution necessitates that government institutions move away from the traditional paper-based system to an electronic system. Many countries in Africa, including South Africa, have adopted the e-government system as one of the main delivery channels for municipal services and information to society (Mafunisa Consulting, 2021). However, despite the government's ability to establish a new public service model where all government agencies provide their constituents with modern, streamlined, and seamless services (Norris and Moon, 2005). Municipalities in South Africa are regarded as entities that provide direct services to the citizens, however are not financially self-sufficient and often lack the necessary infrastructure such as ICT infrastructure to carry out their duties to deliver e-services to the society at large (Development Bank of South Africa, 2023). Many people in rural areas are affected by the lack of ICT infrastructures and basic digital literacy to enable the participation and accessibility of digital services. Therefore, for the society to participate in e-government, it should be proficient with ICT skills, assisted by the availability of ICT infrastructure within their area. As a result, these people are left out of the participation of e-government services due to the complexities associated with the lack of ICT infrastructure. Because the ICT infrastructure is the backbone and a critical component for implementing the e-government system to ensure digital public administration. Therefore, the study examines the role of e-government in the promotion of municipal service delivery within the South African public sector environment. The main objective of the study is to establish the best electronic government mechanisms that will help the South African government in delivering sustainable services. The study adopted a qualitative research methodology with specific reference to a conceptual approach based extensively on secondary data.

Perception of physicians towards electronic prescription system and associated factors at resource limited setting 2021: Cross sectional study.

The healthcare industry is increasingly concerned about medical errors, which are the leading cause of death worldwide and also compromise patient safety. This medical error is even more serious in developing countries where healthcare is not supported by technology. Because of the traditional paper-based prescription system, Ethiopia has an overall medication prescribing error rate of 58.07% that could be avoided if an electronic prescription system was in place. Therefore, this study aims to assess physicians' perceptions towards electronic prescription implementation. From February 1 to April 5, 2021, an institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians working in public hospitals in the Amhara region. 384 physicians were selected using a simple random sampling method. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analysed using SPSS, version 21. To assess factors associated with perception among physicians, a binary and multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed. A P.05 value, at a 95% confidence interval, was considered statistically significant. The validity of the questionnaire was determined based on expert opinion, as well as its reliability was determined by calculating the value of Cronbach alpha (α = .78). In this study, 231 (76.5%) of study participants had a positive perception of electronic prescription. Around 70.8% had more than 5 years of computer usage experience. Nearly 90% of participants claimed that their prescriptions were legible; however, 89% believe that paper-based prescriptions are prone to error. According to multivariable logistic regression analysis, technical skill [AOR] 4.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] (1.27-17.41), good internet access (AOR 2.82, % CI 1.75-4.54), and perceived usefulness of e-prescription system (AOR 3.31, 95% CI 1.01-12.12) were significantly associated with perception. The majority of respondents have a positive perception of electronic prescription. The most notable factors associated with physician perception were organizational factors, internet access, perceived usefulness of the system, and technical skill.

Innovative Method to Digitize a Web-Based OSCE Evaluation System for Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in University Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

PurposeThe Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a standard academic assessment tool in the field of medical education. This study presents an innovative method for digitizing OSCE evaluation system for medical students and explores its efficacy compared to the traditional paper-based system, through the analysis of a User Satisfaction Survey.MethodsA cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study involving a User Satisfaction Survey to evaluate assessors’ attitudes toward and acceptance of the Computerized Web-based OSCE Evaluation System (COES) was used. Fifth-year medical students at a College of Medicine were assessed clinically through their 2019 end-of-year OSCE examination by 30 examiners in five different OSCE stations. The traditional paper-based stations were converted into an online electronic version using QuestionPro software. Answers were filled in using smart tablets (iPads). QR codes were used for students’ identification at each station to fully digitize the process and save time. After the completion of the exam, a User Satisfaction Survey was sent electronically to all examiners to evaluate their experiences with the new system.ResultsThe response rate for the survey was 100% with an internal consistency of 0.83. Almost all the examiners (29, 97%) were satisfied with the application of the COES. Further, 72% of the examiners indicated that the electronic system facilitated the evaluation of the students’ skills, and 84% found using a smart device (iPad) was easier than using a paper form. All examiners expressed their preference for using the electronic system in the future.ConclusionUsers were satisfied with the utilization of the customized COES. This concept of fully digitizing the OSCE assessment process shortened the time needed for both the analysis of results and providing students with feedback. Further observational studies are needed to assess examiners’ behaviors when using this methodology.

A comparative study on radio frequency identification system and its various applications

<span>The radio frequency identification (RFID), is a wireless technology system that is used for identifying an individual or objects through the means of radio waves that transfer information from an electronic tag, called an RFID tag. RFID consists of two main components the interrogator and the transponder. The Interrogator, which is the RFID reader, the interrogator usually transmits and receives the signal while the transponder that is the tag, is attached to the object. In the RFID system, an RFID reader interrogates the RFID tags. This tag reader generates a radio frequency interrogation, which communicates with the tags been registered in the system. This reader likewise has a receiver that captures a reply signal generated from the tags and decodes the signal. This reply signal from the tags reflects the tag's information content. Each tag of the employee or student consists of a unique identity, identification card (ID) that is assigned to a single employee or student ID card, which is recorded, in the database of the system. This research reviews some recent designs and implementation of internet of things (IoT) attendance systems using the concept of the RFID system. The analysis found that the RFID system is a very advanced technology for an automatic attendance system in an institution, organization, or university and it provides a very higher performance and accuracy than the traditional paper-based system that the employees or students normally used to sign. The use of the RFID technology enables the institution, authorities, or management to evade attendance documents from damages such as misplacement, tear, or even got lost. A combination of the model is needed which will confirm higher security, better performance, and consistency of the system.</span>

Electronic reporting of integrated disease surveillance and response: lessons learned from northeast, Nigeria, 2019

BackgroundElectronic reporting of integrated disease surveillance and response (eIDSR) was implemented in Adamawa and Yobe states, Northeastern Nigeria, as an innovative strategy to improve disease reporting. Its objectives were to improve the timeliness and completeness of IDSR reporting by health facilities, prompt identification of public health events, timely information sharing, and public health action. We evaluated the project to determine whether it met its set objectives.MethodWe conducted a cross-sectional study to assess and document the lessons learned from the project. We reviewed the performance of the local government areas (LGAs) on timeliness and completeness of reporting, rumors identification, and reporting on the eIDSR and the traditional paper-based system using a checklist. Respondents were interviewed online on the relevance, efficiency, sustainability, project progress and effectiveness, the effectiveness of management, and potential impact and scalability of the strategy using structured questionnaires. Data were cleaned, analyzed, and presented as proportions using an MS Excel spreadsheet. Responses were also presented as direct quotes.ResultsThe number of health facilities reporting IDSR increased from 103 to 228 (117%) before and after implementation of the eIDSR respectively. The timeliness of reporting was 43% in the LGA compared to 73% in health facilities implementing eIDSR. The completeness of IDSR reports in the last 6 months before the evaluation was ≥85%. Of the 201 rumors identified and verified, 161 (80%) were from the eIDSR pilot sites. The majority of the stakeholders interviewed believed that eIDSR met its predetermined objectives for public health surveillance. The benefits of eIDSR included timely reporting and response to alerts and disease outbreaks, improved timeliness, and completeness of reporting, and supportive supervision to the operational levels. The strategy helped stakeholders to appreciate their roles in public health surveillance.ConclusionThe eIDSR has increased the number of health facilities reporting IDSR, enabled early identification, reporting, and verification of alerts, improved timeliness and completeness of reports, and supportive supervision of staff at the operational levels. It was well accepted by the stakeholder as a system that made reporting easy with the potential to improve the public health surveillance system in Nigeria.

Assessment of monitoring systems in the management of severe acute malnutrition in northern Nigeria

BackgroundIn northern Nigeria, UNICEF has supported introduction of a short message service (SMS) system for data transmission in the Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programme. The SMS system operates in parallel to the traditional paper-based system, and weekly data are transmitted directly from the health facilities to the federal level. For the paper system, monthly data summaries are passed through all levels of government. We assessed the data quality and performance of both CMAM information systems.MethodsWe undertook a contextualised study in one state in north-west Nigeria, with additional analysis of secondary data from five states. Fieldwork methods included: observation of the data system in nine selected facilities in three local government areas; recounting of data for admissions, exits, and ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) utilisation; and interviews with health workers and government officials.ResultsWhile the small number of facilities does not enable robust generalisation of the quantitative findings, the strengths and weaknesses detected pertain to the whole programme, as they relate to how the system was designed and is operated. We found that the accuracy and reliability of CMAM data were deficient to a similar extent in the paper-based and SMS systems. For the audited month, we found large discrepancies between recounted data and paper records in regard to admissions, exits and RUTF cartons consumed in the majority of facilities visited. There was also a large discrepancy in the reported percentage of “deaths or defaulters” (6.5%) compared to 22% based on a recount of outpatient cards. Errors are mainly introduced during data collection and when completing tallies at facility level.ConclusionOur findings indicate the need for improvements in the design of the monitoring system, training and supervision of data management, and communication of results; as well as clear evidence on how measures to improve data quality may affect performance of individual CMAM clinics. The CMAM default and death rates currently reported in Nigeria are likely to be under-estimates, and therefore provide a misleadingly good impression of CMAM programme performance.

The Implementation of Computerized Physician Order Entry in the Intensive Care Unit

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) has been known as a process of physician orders in an electronic way instead of the traditional paper-based system. CPOE has been included as one of core objectives in the term ‘Meaningful Use’ by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General reported 180,000 deaths in the United States in 2008 due to medication errors. The Institute of Medicine reported about 450,000 preventable adverse drug effects which costed additional $3.5 billion. On average, 1.7 medication errors per day and 74.5% errors in parenteral drugs administration were reported in the intensive care unit (ICU). The purpose of this research was to examine the benefits, barriers and risks of CPOE adoption in different ICUs. The methodology for this study was a literature review. Research was conducted by collecting scholarly online database and government websites. On one hand, CPOE could provide patient’s health record regardless of time and place, alerts in drug interactions, and suggest in clinical decisions in ICUs. CPOE could also reduce medication errors and adverse drug events significantly. On the other hand, CPOE could provide better solutions if it would be used with real-time conversation and as per workflow of ICUs. In addition, user satisfaction and sufficient training, were important factors in implementing CPOE with more successful and desired outcomes.

Improving recruitment process for nurses, professions supplementary to medicine and paramedical staff

The recruitment process of nurses, professions supplementary to medicine and paramedical staffs had been a lengthy and labourers work for the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services (MoHIMS) of Sri Lanka. The process affected the regular recruitment of mentioned staff categories. Flaws in this system contributed negatively to the country's shortage of human resources for health (HRH) as well as efforts to improve the healthcare service delivery. The aim of the study was to identify the gaps in the traditional paper-based recruitment system of the MoHIMS and to design a suitable intervention to improve the process and to assess the improvements brought about by the intervention. A service improvement project with full participation of stakeholders was planned by the Human Resource Coordination Division (HRCoD) of the MoHIMS. Qualitative methods were used to identify the gaps in the existing recruitment system and to gather the ideas for improvement. A computer based online recruitment system was implemented with the collaboration of the Department of Computer Science Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa. The perceived satisfaction of the stakeholders was reassessed by qualitative methods. Long lag between advertising and recruitment for training was revealed. Deficiencies such as, lack of transparency, negatively affected routine office processes, inability to validate examination results during application process and frustrated applicants leaving the training programs due to lengthy selection processes were also among the main gaps identified. The implemented online recruitment system was recognised by the stakeholders for its improved timeliness, transparency and minimal interference to the routine office functions. Service improvement projects to be successful, should be implemented with full stakeholder participation. Computer based online recruitment systems can be successfully implemented in public sector recruitments to improve the efficiency and transparency

Development of an Accident and Emergency Triage Mobile App Using Open Data Kit

Background The process of triaging is performed as an effective solution to balance limited resources against high patient volumes, based on an assessment of the patient’s medical condition and the application of an established patient categorization protocol. In Princess Marina Hospital (PMH), a national referral government hospital in the capital city of Botswana, the Princess Marina Hospital Accident and Emergency Centre Triage Scale (PATS) has been in use since 2010. Because the rules of these triage scales are very well defined, these protocols have been shown to be amenable to translation into computer algorithms. Thus, clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) that can assist with information management to support clinicians’ decision-making abilities can be developed, leading to improved healthcare quality and patient safety. Objective This study aims to determine the feasibility of development of a mobile triage app based on the adult PATS using Open Data kit (ODK) open source software to be used as a CDSS on smartphones and tablet computers for correct patient categorization. Methods A user-centered design approach was used in designing the app, with participants recruited from the staff at the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) at PMH. Forty clinical vignettes were used in the evaluation of the performance of the app as compared to the paper-based system currently in use with the emergency physician at PMH providing the gold standard categorization of these vignettes. Usability testing was also performed. Results The app scored 90% (n=36) of the vignettes correctly, as compared to the paper-based system which scored 82.5% (n=33) of the vignettes correctly. Both systems achieved an over-triage score of 7.5% with an equal number of vignettes over-triaged (n=3). The results of the chi-square test indicate that the difference in triage scores between the paper-based system and the mobile app is statistically significant at P=.001 in favour of the ODK app. An overall positive outcome was also achieved in the usability test with ease of use and speed of triage determined to be the most recurring themes in the user feedback survey. While the app does not require an internet connection for triaging patients, a reliable wireless internet connection is required to upload data to the server for viewing by medical officers and physicians in real time, and this can be provided by the hospital as part of the Botswana government eHealth strategy. Additionally, the app developed in this research allows for data collection up to the point of triage categorization, meaning that a separate form would be required for capturing the rest of the information on the PMH A&E triage form. Conclusions The triage app developed in this research was found to determine the triage category of patient vignettes more accurately than the traditional paper-based system based on PATS triage guidelines with good results obtained in usability testing. Future work includes use of the app developed in this research in a live setting involving real patients in the A&E in PMH.

RFID Based (IoT) Automatic Attendance System: A Survey Analysis

In contemporary attendance is an intense issue of each foundation. The conventional method of admitting the attendance is a paper-based system. The difficulties incorporate trouble in keeping the attendance list over a significant piece of time, fair amount of time wastage amid composing and marking, forged documentation, students are neglecting as well as ignorance to sign the attendance paper, lecturers overlooking the attendance list in the study hall, students signing or marking unlawfully for a truant among others. It is necessary to move away from this conventional system and need to provide better solution for the problems which are being faced. Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the key medium to solve the said issue. This paper analyses the very recent development and implementation of IoT attendance system using the concept of RFID. This analysis found that, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a very advanced technology for automatic attendance system and it provide very higher accuracy and performance than traditional paper-based system. In addition, it has been concluded that, even though RFID is used, a second verification method is highly essential to mitigate the cheating and increasing reliability level. Eventually all the systems discussed in this analysis has its own advantages and disadvantages. Some certain characteristics are good for some systems and some are not. To overcome this, a hybrid model is necessary and which must confirm higher security, reliability, low cost and better performance of the system. In that respect, “RFID four tire system with biometrics” could be used along with adequate number of RFID tag readers and finger print devices in order to confirm the security and the reliability of the system. Web server could be replaced by PHP and MYSQL result cheaper, better accuracy and high performance. This hybrid model could be applied and practiced in schools and higher education institutions effectively.

Strengthening primary health care through e-referral system.

Referral is a dynamic process, in which a health worker at one level of the health system, having insufficient resources (drugs, equipment, skills) to manage a clinical condition, seeks the help of a better or differently resourced facility at the same or higher level to assist in. Health care systems of every country are designed in such a way to encourage patients to first attempt to get care at the primary level and then to approach a higher level of care according to the need. This protocol minimizes the costs for the caretaker/patients. However, in most of the countries, patients often bypass primary care facilities and directly go to the higher center thereby, increasing the burden on higher level facilities, the picture is not very different in India also. Health care system in India is plugged by: overpopulation, lack of expert clinicians, skewed distribution of physicians, lack of motivation among existing health care personnel and an ineffective referral mechanism. Due to failure of conventional paper-based referral systems in our country, we can introduce an e-referral system in the era of internet. It is evident from our experiences, that this artificial intelligence enabled e-referral system has many advantages over the traditional paper-based referral system. It will aid health workers for timely management of cases. Most importantly, it will streamline the existing unorganized referral process. Although, for effective e-Referral system, there should be a collaborative platform where easy search and discovery for health care providers is possible and help in decision making. e- Referral should be incorporated in our health system to strengthen it by bridging the access gap may be through Public Private Partnership model.

An Effective Attendance Monitoring System with Fraud Prevention Technique for Educational Institutions

In this article, an Attendance Monitoring System (AMS) is proposed for educational institutions. The novel aspect of this work is to integrate a password-protected attendance counting module with the system. The module can effectively limit the fraudulent activities in attendance monitoring process. Besides that, some constraints are proposed to increase the security of the AMS. Based on the constraints a new system is designed to maintain the attendance data and the user information. The aim of this research is to design an effective AMS using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to prevent fraudulence. Besides, the attention is given to the usability and the efficiency of the system. For this purpose, a usability testing named System Usability Scale (SUS) is used after implementing the system in the real world. The usability test result shows that the proposed system has an average SUS score of 71.92 out of 100. The score indicates that the proposed system has the adjective rating, “good” (range 71.4 – 85.5). A performance testing is conducted by calculating the average response time for the system. The response time is collected by varying the number of RFID tags and the lengths of the serial cable. The average response time of the proposed system is found 1.11 second which is better than the traditional paper-based system.

Positive trend shifting to Online Assessments: A Review of using Socrative in Medical College, its Advantages and Challenges faced

Background: Information technology, web-based software and applications are being used in the modern education system in many parts of the world. This trend although new, is welcomed by many but has also many drawbacks as well as benefits. To find out what students perceive about this shift of traditional paper-based assessment system to web-based assessment system, surveys should be carried out. These surveys will not only help us discover the point of view of direct users but would also help change and improve educational programs and policies in education. Objective: We aimed to evaluate undergraduate medical students’ perception about online assessment systems in medical education. Methods: A new online assessment system “Socrative” was introduced for Pathology assessments among undergraduate medical students of year three and four MBBS (Central park Medical College Lahore Pakistan). Students were informed about this new application and online assessments were done. Students were given a questionnaire to find out what they perceive about this new assessment system, and its advantages and disadvantages. Results: 208 students participated in the survey. Most of the students (60%) stated that it is convenient for them to read questions on screen and the diagrams given with the questions were very helpful during assessment. 46% students stated that web based assessment is easier to attempt as compared to written one and most students were satisfied with the features of Socrative online application. Despite all the positive reviews about online assessment, only 13% of the participants agreed that they will choose online assessment over written while attempting multiple choice questions and short answer questions. Conclusion: Undergraduate Medical students were happy with this new online assessment but were not ready for a rapid shift and complete elimination of paper-based assessment system. Further studies should be done to find out teachers as well as students’ perception about introduction of new assessment systems in health education. Keywords: MEDICAL EDUCATION, ONLINE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM, PAPER BASED ASSESSMENT, SOCRATIVE

Design and Implementation an e-Hospital System at Kurdistan

The utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have developed quickly. Traditional Healthcare (TH) which designates paper-predicated system is expeditious giving way to e-health system in most developed countries. Virtually all hospitals in the Kurdistan Region (KR) are utilizing TH. This paper deals with designing and implementing a web based electronic hospital system (WBEHS) in Shorsh General Hospital (SGH) in Slemani city. The system solves traditional style quandaries by transmuting the traditional paper-based healthcare system into a fully electronic system containing multi modules such as (Physician, X-Ray, Pharmacy, Laboratories, Ultrasound). The staff of SGH participated in the implementation and obtaining the results which have been evaluated by utilizing System Usability Scale (SUS). The overall evaluation score of the questionnaire was (79. 459%) which can be considered as a good result.

Cloud-based safety information and communication system in infrastructure construction

This research aims to develop a cloud-based safety information and communication system for improving safety performance of infrastructure projects. To achieve this aim, firstly, current traditional paper-based construction safety management system and practice are described, together with a review of the potential application of cloud-based information technology in safety management. Secondly, a cloud-based safety information and communication system (named as MapSafe) was designed and developed by using a free-to-use online web server. The MapSafe system functions include Pre-Starting Safety Meeting Recording, Permit to Penetrate Request and Approval, Job Safety Analysis, and Safety Incident Reporting. The system was tested by using a road construction project and the results show it is a robust system that can be applied to improve safety. The key contribution of this research includes mapping the processes of safety information collection, analysis and approval, and pointing out the way for future application of cloud computing in construction safety management.

Smartphone teledermoscopy referrals: a novel process for improved triage of skin cancer patients.

In this open, controlled, multicentre and prospective observational study, smartphone teledermoscopy referrals were sent from 20 primary healthcare centres to 2 dermatology departments for triage of skin lesions of concern using a smartphone application and a compatible digital dermoscope. The outcome for 816 patients referred via smartphone teledermoscopy was compared with 746 patients referred via the traditional paper-based system. When surgical treatment was required, the waiting time was significantly shorter using teledermoscopy for patients with melanoma, melanoma in situ, squamous cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma in situ and basal cell carcinoma. Triage decisions were also more reliable with teledermoscopy and over 40% of the teledermoscopy patients could potentially have avoided face-to-face visits. Only 4 teledermoscopy referrals (0.4%) had to be excluded due to poor image quality. Smartphone teledermoscopy referrals allow for faster and more efficient management of patients with skin cancer as compared to traditional paper referrals.

Economic evaluation of hospital management information systems in Tamil Nadu, India

Introduction: Huge investments have been made in implementing computerized Hospital Management Information Systems (HMIS) across the world, including developing countries. Economic evaluation studies have shown that HMIS implementations are beneficial. While measuring effectiveness, studies have compared the quality of data generated in the HMIS with paper-based systems and have shown that HMIS is more advantageous. However, not all HMIS implementations are successful. Many successful implementations are the result of a continuous process of re-engineering, with inputs obtained from the end-users at every stage of the implementation process. The aims of this study were to compare cost-effectiveness, end-user satisfaction and perspectives between HMIS and traditional paper-based system (TPBS). Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluates the HMIS in government hospitals in Tamil Nadu using a mixed method approach. The study sample included 24 hospitals (13 HMIS and 11 TPBS), and hospital staff in four professional categories (doctors, staff nurses, pharmacists and lab technicians). Results: Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that HMIS implementation has high cost and high effectiveness with an ICER value of 3301.33. The Likert scale used to measure end-user satisfaction levels found that end-users were highly satisfied with HMIS as compared to TPBS. Conclusions: The study demonstrated the high cost and high effectiveness of HMIS implementation. The 'accuracy of data', 'content of the system' and the 'timely availability' characteristics of HMIS were highly appreciated by the users, whereas in TPBS, the users appreciated the 'user friendly' nature of this system.

Creating eppiccNURSE: A Web-Based System for Better Communication and Enhanced Regulatory Compliance

In 2007, the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing (BON) deployed a web-based system, called an education program portal and information communication channel (eppiccNURSE), to create efficiencies in the information exchange between the BON and Pennsylvania pre-licensure nursing education programs. This system replaced a traditional paper-based system. Over the last 4 years, eppiccNURSE has advanced regulation by enabling enhanced data collection through the aggregation, analysis, and retrieval of large quantities of data that previously were isolated points of data.

A COLLABORATIVE SOFTWARE CODE INSPECTION: THE DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF A REPEATABLE COLLABORATION PROCESS IN THE FIELD

The use of software products in today's world has increased dramatically making quality an important aspect of software development. There is a continuous need to develop processes to control and increase software quality. Software code inspection is one way to pursue this goal. This paper presents a collaborative code inspection process that was designed during an action research study using Collaboration Engineering principles and techniques. Our inspection process was implemented as a sequence of thinkLets, chunks of facilitation skill, that were subsequently field tested in a traditional paper-based and Group Support System (GSS)-based environment. Four inspections were performed on four different pieces of software code in two different organizations. Results show that regardless of the implementation, the process was found to be successful in uncovering many major, minor, and false-positive defects in inspected pieces of code. Overall observations and feedback suggest that the collaborative inspection process was considered to be productive and satisfactory. GSS inspections were more effective, especially in terms of major defects. GSS inspections were also found to be more efficient. Finally, the GSS inspections outperformed the paper inspections from a practical perspective: logging and managing defects in a GSS was far superior.