Benchmarking of hospital information systems: Monitoring of discharge letters and scheduling can reveal heterogeneities and time trends

Martin Dugas¹ , Markus Eckholt² and Holger Bunzemeier³

¹Department of Medical Informatics and Biomathematics, University of Münster, Domagkstr. 9, D-48149 Münster, Germany

²IT center, University Hospital of Münster, Germany

³Business division medical management, University Hospital of Münster, Germany

author email corresponding author email

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2008, 8:15doi:10.1186/1472-6947-8-15


Published:	19 April 2008

Abstract

Background

Monitoring of hospital information system (HIS) usage can provide insights into best practices within a hospital and help to assess time trends. In terms of effort and cost of benchmarking, figures derived automatically from the routine HIS system are preferable to manual methods like surveys, in particular for repeated analysis.

Methods

Due to relevance for quality management and efficient resource utilization we focused on time-to-completion of discharge letters (assessed by CT-plots) and usage of patient scheduling. We analyzed these parameters monthly during one year at a major university hospital in Germany.

Results

We found several distinct patterns of discharge letter documentation indicating a large heterogeneity of HIS usage between different specialties (completeness 51 – 99%, delays 0 – 90 days). Overall usage of scheduling increased during the observation period by 62%, but again showed a considerable variation between departments.

Conclusion

Regular monitoring of HIS key figures can contribute to a continuous HIS improvement process.