Effect of Hospital Management Information System Functionalities on the Performance of Health Care Institutions in Kenya: A Case of the Nairobi Hospital

Abstract

The essence of this research was to determine the effect of hospital management information system (HMIS) functionalities on the performance of The Nairobi Hospital. The specific objectives were to determine the HMIS functionalities of The Nairobi Hospital, determine the performance of The Nairobi Hospital, and determine the effect of the HMIS functionalities on the performance of The Nairobi Hospital. The study employed a descriptive research design, and the target population comprised 1,200 staff members. The sample size was 120 respondents who were selected through stratified random sampling. Data was collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. The study revealed that the hospital had adopted medical record management functionality at 90(97.8%), laboratory information management functionality at 84(91.3%), procurement management functionality at 90(97.8%), pharmacy management functionality at 47(51.1%), doctor/nursing functionality at 70(76.1%), and management/management information system (MIS) reporting functionality at 31(33.7%). It further revealed that the hospital had over the years improved its performance and that HMIS functionalities had led to improved patient turnaround time and efficient service delivery at 76(82.6%). The study concluded that The Nairobi Hospital had over the years achieved both growth in revenue and also improvement in patient satisfaction. The study recommends that the management of The Nairobi Hospital should work towards ensuring that all the HMIS functionalities in all its departments are fully integrated so as to enhance efficiency in operations and, in turn, reduction of patient costs while at the same time maintaining the quality of healthcare.