[Ranking of hospital information systems based on requirements of Iran in 2013]

Introduction: Hospital information system is comprehensive software to integrate patient information in order to send and exchange information between departments and other medical centers. Since according to the users' needs, some changes such as modifications, improvements or conformity to changes in the organization are applied and also some requirements and performance characteristics are added in these systems, they should be constantly assessed and ranked. The aim of this research is to rank hospital information systems

Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in 2013. Research population was hospital information systems of the country. The sample size was 16 companies. Data were collected from check lists which included information related to research purposes, and its validity was confirmed by experts. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS software

Results: In the overall rating of hospital information systems, "Rayavran" with 72.7% ranked the highest and "BuAli designers" with 47.1% ranked the lowest. In rating functional requirements, only three softwares were efficient. Most of these systems were efficient regarding technical requirements and the ability to use the capabilities of the vendor of the systems, and most hospital information systems were inefficient in improving the quality of patient care

Conclusion: In general, hospital information systems in Iran had a moderate performance regarding the studied requirements and this requires system managers and designers` consideration and attention

Proposal for a modernized Iranian notifiable infectious diseases surveillance system: comparison with USA and Australia

This article reports on a comparative study of the national notifiable infectious diseases surveillance systems currently employed in the United States of America, Australia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the aim of developing a modified system specific to the needs of the Iranian health system. Features of the surveillance systems examined in each country included: official data gathering structures; types of data collected; case definition and classification criteria; data collection processes; data analysis methods; disease classification systems; data dissemination and distribution methods; data quality control; and confidentiality procedures and guidelines. After consolidating the data, a model for an Iranian notifiable infectious diseases surveillance system was developed and was tested by the Delphi method in 3 stages

[Health services accreditation standards for information management in Canada, New Zealand and USA: a comparative study]

Accreditation and evaluation play a critical role in quality management. In this regards health records are among the primary documents used by health care facilities to evaluate compliance with the standards set by accreditation agencies. To compare the strengths, weaknesses, and the general functionality of IM standards of three well-established accreditation agencies in Canada, USA and New Zealand. This was a comparative-descriptive study in which the IM standards of Canada, USA and New Zealand were collected and investigated through the internet and e-mails during 2003-2004. The data indicated that the JCAHO has adopted maximum standards related to patients-specific information. The data also described that the CCHSA has regarded the most complete and suitable standards related to educational and staff development standards. Considering other data, the maximum standards related to achieving positive outcomes and making improvement has been adopted by the CCHSA and QHNZ. All together, the findings of this comparative study revealed that while the CCHSA and QHNZ have adopted the same standards with emphasis on information management planning standards and achieving positive outcomes, the strong points of JCAHO's standards are specific information and evidence-based decision making