Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 M.Sc. in Medical Records Education. Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor of Medical Informatics. Department of Health Information Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Lecturer of Vital Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics Department, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: A patient accounting system is a subsystem of a hospital information system which provides comprehensive information to identify patients’ charges from admission to discharge. The main aim of this research was to compare the data elements of patient accounting systems with users’ requirements. Methods: The current research was a quantitative study completed in 2012. The participants were the users’ of patient accounting systems used in the hospitals affiliated with Tehran university of medical sciences. Stratified sampling method was used to select the participants (n=216) from 24 hospitals, and six patient accounting systems used in these hospitals were selected to compare their data elements with the users’ requirements. The research instruments were a questionnaire and a checklist. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts and its reliability was checked using internal consistency test (α=0.95). Face validity of the checklist was confirmed by the experts. The mean value of > 3 showed the importance of each data element. The most important data elements were identified and compared with the systems’ data elements to determine the fitness between these two. To compare users’ views, Mann Whitney U test (05/0=α) was used. Results: The results showed that among the data elements of an inpatient billing, the charges of healthcare services were the most important data elements from users’ perspectives. There was a significant difference between the views of managers and other users about the importance of the ‘type of insurance’ (P=0/025) and ‘the type of patient medical records’ (P=0/036). Generally, the findings showed that the current patient accounting systems were able to meet 70 -80% of users’ information needs. Conclusion: User involvement in designing and developing health information systems is one of the influencing factors on information systems’ success. As a patient accounting system covers an important part of the hospital’s financial information, it should not be excluded and weaknesses should be identified and addressed properly. Key words: Hospital Information Systems; Accounting; Evaluation.
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