Health Informatics
A useful starting point for learning about health informatics is the OUP Publication “Public Health Informatics- Designing for Change; A Developing Country Perspective.” (Sundeep Sahay, Sundararaman, John Braa, 2017) This book provides a historical account of the development of the discipline, and the very many purposes it serves. It then deals with some of the core problematics of informatics – the poor use of information, the challenge of integration, the institutional barriers, the measurement of systems performance, and the issues related to governance and standards. Not an easy book to go through- but a must read.
One could follow that with an overview article, Towards A Research Agenda On Health Information Systems For Universal Health Coverage–presented and published in the Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, Negombo, Sri Lanka, May 2015, pages 137 to 148. This same theme also informed another presentation: Building Locally Relevant Models For Universal Health Coverage And Its Implications For Health Information Systems: Some Reflections From India.
For the practitioner one good introduction to HMIS is the NHSRC manuals – especially Volume 2- The Health Programme Managers Manual on HMIS – which sets out many of the basic principles of design. We have enclosed both Volume 1 – the Service Providers Manual and Volume 2 – Health Programme Managers Manual for your reference.
There are a number of papers that describe the process of implementation in India. Two brief papers are enclosed Designing An Information Technology System in public Health: Observations From India and Determinants Of Health Management Information Systems Performance: Lessons From A District Level Assessment.
A more detailed internal report, on “Study of Public Health IT Systems in India; Background Study for ICT subgroup of Sector Innovation Council in Heath.” is also shared.
A more recent and comprehensive description of the development of health management information systems can be found in the paper: “Where is our Health Data Going?” (Sudeep Sahay & Arunima Mukherjee) and published in EPW, January 2020.