Health Information System

When we talk about Health Information Systems (HIS), what comes to mind? Digitized data? Digital data? Online information?

Before discussing the SIS itself, it is essential to understand the concept of health records. The oldest known document — a papyrus from ancient times, attributed to the Egyptians — already contained information about symptoms, diagnoses, procedures and treatments.

The systematization and organization of health data are deeply associated with the social and scientific thinking of its time, as well as with available technologies.

To expand this discussion, it is necessary to revisit concepts and definitions related to System, Information and Health. We can do this through a quick search on the internet or by consulting previous notes.

System

According to the General Systems Theory, postulated by Ludwig Bertalanffy:

“Theory deals with the relationships between the parts and the whole of a system, which has a common goal.”

Information

Information can be seen in a linear way — as the flow of data → information → knowledge → action — or as a broader concept: a “thing”, knowledge or process (Branco, MAF, 2006 - Information and Health: A science and its policies in a new era ) .

Health

According to Scliar, M. (2007 - History of the concept of health ) :

“The concepts of health and disease are analyzed in their historical evolution and in their relationship with the cultural, social, political and economic context, highlighting the evolution of ideas in this area of human experience.”

With this historical and conceptual overview, we can answer the initial questions:

• Digitized data? Yes, when the data is originally recorded on paper and later entered into a SIS.

• Digital data? Yes, when the data originates natively from technologies such as computers, tablets or smartphones.

• Online information? Not all digital data is online. To be online, it needs to be available on a network. Digital data can be saved in local applications, without communication with other platforms.

  
  

I hope this text has contributed to a reflection on the HIS from a historical point of view. Briefly, we seek to offer a critical look at the development and use of these systems.