ObjectivesInformation technology is an essential tool to improve patient safety and the quality of care, and to reduce healthcare costs. There is a scarcity of large sustainable implementations in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to review the challenges faced by developing countries to achieve sustainable implementations in health informatics and possible ways to address them.MethodsIn this non-systematic review of the literature, articles were searched using the keywords medical informatics, developing countries, implementation, and challenges in PubMed, LILACS, CINAHL, Scopus, and EMBASE. The authors, after reading the literature, reached a consensus to classify the challenges into six broad categories.ResultsThe authors describe the problems faced by developing countries arising from the lack of adequate infrastructure and the ways these can be bypassed; the fundamental need to develop nationwide e-Health agendas to achieve sustainable implementations; ways to overcome public uncertainty with respect to privacy and security; the difficulties shared with developed countries in achieving interoperability; the need for a trained workforce in health informatics and existing initiatives for its development; and strategies to achieve regional integration.ConclusionsCentral to the success of any implementation in health informatics is knowledge of the challenges to be faced. This is even more important in developing countries, where uncertainty and instability are common. The authors hope this article will assist policy makers, healthcare managers, and project leaders to successfully plan their implementations and make them sustainable, avoiding unexpected barriers and making better use of their resources.

Clinical Decision Support Systems can alert health professionals about drug interactions when they prescribe medications. The Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires in Argentina developed an electronic health record with drug-drug interaction alerts, using traditional software engineering techniques and requirements. Despite enhancing the drug-drug interaction knowledge database, the alert override rate of this system was very high. We redesigned the alert system using user-centered design (UCD) and participatory design techniques to enhance the drug-drug interaction alert interface. This paper describes the methodology of our UCD. We used crossover method with realistic, clinical vignettes to compare usability of the standard and new software versions in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, and user satisfaction. Our study showed that, compared to the traditional alert system, the UCD alert system was more efficient (alerts faster resolution), more effective (tasks completed with fewer errors), and more satisfying. These results indicate that UCD techniques that follow ISO 9241-210 can generate more usable alerts than traditional design.

IntroductionNonattendance at scheduled outpatient appointments for primary care is a major health care problem worldwide. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of nonattendance at scheduled appointments for outpatients seeking primary care, to identify associated factors and build a model that predicts nonattendance at scheduled appointments.MethodsA cohort study of adult patients, who had a scheduled outpatient appointment for primary care, was conducted between January 2010 and July 2011, at the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires. We evaluated the history and characteristics of these patients, and their scheduling and attendance at appointments. Patients were divided into two groups: those who attended their scheduled appointments, and those who did not. We estimated the odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), and generated a predictive model for nonattendance, with logistic regression, using factors associated with lack of attendance, and those considered clinically relevant. Alternative models were compared using Akaike’s Information Criterion. A generation cohort and a validation cohort were assigned randomly.ResultsOf 113,716 appointments included in the study, 25,687 were missed (22.7%; 95% CI: 22.34%–22.83%). We found a statistically significant association between nonattendance and age (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.99–0.99), number of issues in the personal health record (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.98–0.99), time between the request for and date of appointment (OR: 1; 95% CI: 1–1), history of nonattendance (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.07–1.07), appointment scheduled later than 4 pm (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.24–1.35), and specific days of the week (OR: 1.00; 95% CI: 1.06–1.1). The predictive model for nonattendance included characteristics of the patient requesting the appointment, the appointment request, and the actual appointment date. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the predictive model in the generation cohort was 0.892 (95% CI: 0.890–0.894).ConclusionEvidence related to patient characteristics, and the identification of appointments with a higher likelihood of nonattendance, should promote guided strategies to reduce the rate of nonattendance, as well as to future research on this topic. The use of predictive models could further guide management strategies to reduce the rate of nonattendance.

Citar como: Plazzotta F, Luna D, González Bernaldo de Quirós F. Sistemas de información en salud: integrando datos clínicos en diferentes escenarios y usuarios. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Publica. 2015;32(2):343-51. RESUMENPese al avance tecnológico de las últimas décadas y a los múltiples beneficios documentados, la implementación de tecnologías de información y comunicación (TIC) en salud continúa siendo un importante desafío para las organizaciones de salud. Buscando contribuir al análisis de las múltiples variables involucradas a la hora de lograr implementaciones exitosas, aplicamos un modelo sociotécnico para analizar la experiencia de informatización de la capa clínica en el Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (HIBA). El marco conceptual aplicado consta de ocho dimensiones interconectadas que permiten revisar diferentes aspectos a tener en cuenta a la hora de diseñar, desarrollar, implementar, usar y evaluar la aplicación de TIC. Teniendo en cuenta la evolución de nuestro proyecto, lo dividimos en tres etapas, de forma tal que cada una de las dimensiones es analizada en cada una de las etapas. El modelo sociotécnico aplicado resultó en una adecuada herramienta de evaluación de nuestra implementación de TIC en salud, permitiéndonos el análisis de las ocho dimensiones, incluso de forma retrospectiva. Aplicando este análisis a cada una de las etapas de la evolución de nuestro proyecto institucional pudimos evidenciar que al tener en cuenta todos los aspectos en conjunto se facilitó la ejecución del mismo y nos permitió identificar aspectos por mejorar. Palabras clave: Sistemas de información en salud; Modelos teóricos; Informática médica/organización & administración (fuente: DeCS BIREME). ABSTRACTDespite the technological advances of recent decades and the many documented benefits, the implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) in health remains a major challenge for healthcare organizations. Looking to contribute to the analysis of multiple variables involved at the time of achieving successful implementation, we apply a sociotechnical model to analyze the experience of computerization of the clinical layer in the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires. The conceptual framework applied consists of eight interconnected dimensions that allow the review of different aspects to consider at the time of design, development, implementation, use and evaluation of the application of ICT. Considering the evolution of our project, we divided it into three stages, so that each of the dimensions is analyzed in each of the stages. The socio-technical model applied resulted in an appropriate tool for assessing our implementation of ICT in health, allowing us the analysis of the eight dimensions, including retrospectively. Applying this analysis to each of the stages of the evolution of our institutional project we were able to show that by taking into account all aspects together, its execution was facilitated and allowed us to identify areas for improvement.