An infocentric view of the hospital information system

The development of HISs has evolved from a piebald collection of stand-alone applications to a well conceived collection of integrated modules. The current generation of both computer hardware and the development tools available on the hardware have facilitated the creation of these infocentric applications. The willingness of healthcare professionals--from doctors and nurses to administrators--to become more involved in the design and implementation has created more sophisticated and appropriate application modules. Multiple development sites have resulted in more flexible systems which can be more readily adapted to a larger set of end users. The cumulative result of this current technology and professional involvement is a collection of systems which are better suited for the end user; and which are more cost effective to implement. If these current trends continued, it is possible that we will see much of the promise envisioned in the early days of HIS development available to the individual HIS user. However, the dynamic characteristics of the healthcare industry warn us that we cannot allow our systems to become stagnant. Everyone with computer responsibility must be vigilant to the kaleidoscopic modifications in requirements if the infocentric based systems are to be a propitious tool for the suppliers of healthcare services.