Decision Support Systems for Health and Social Care

CARE SUPPORT - CP94-334

Keywords: health, social care, decision support

Start Date: 15 January 95 / Status: finished / Duration: 24 months

Objectivies and Approach

The objective of this EU/WHO concerted action is to help the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CCEE) strengthen their health information systems and their capacities with regard to health service management by means of software systems that support decision making. The main idea is that comparable data should be accessible in a user-friendly and easy way. This will allow policy makers, health administrators and health professionals to compare performances in their areas with these in other areas in their own country and elsewhere. Experience has shown, e.g. in the U.K., that such comparisons are stimuli for improvements and for the identification of problems that must be further investigated. The general application of such systems might lead to an accelerated uptake of information technologies in CCEE from which the local software industries will benefit. The major elements of the concerted action are:

to get full agreement of all countries with regard to data presentation, the overall functionality of the system, and its technical features
make recommendations with respect to any extension and refinement of the present prototype
to select the core indicators, define the data and specify definitions and standards
to customise the system in conformance with local needs
to test and evaluate the system for use within and across countries
to exchange experiences on its use.

Progress and Results

A Health Services Indicators Benefits Casebook (200 pages) and an improved version of the Health Services Indicators Presentation Software are in preparation.

Information Dissemination Activities and/or Exploitation

All eleven CCEE will be involved in four concerted working meetings, complemented by national meetings in each country. Exploitation and follow-up will be achieved by establishing collaborative platforms for continuation of the concerted action and by creating market opportunities for the software industry in CCEE, in particular SMEs, in offering customised systems to user communities.

Coordinator

WHO Regional Office for Europe
Regional Adviser for Epidemiology, Statistics
and Health Information, Scherfigsvej 8
DK-2100 Copenhagen 0, DK

EU Partners

WHO Regional Office for Europe, DK
The SOCRATES Network, Health & IT Consultants, Woubrugge, NL
NHS Executive, Dept. of Health, Economics and Operational
Research Division, Leeds, UK
Institut de la Salut, Barcelona, E
GESI Srl., Rome, I
IIRIAM, Marseille, F

Non-EU Partners

Ministry of Health, Statistical Unit, Tirana, AL
National Institute of Health Informatics, Sofia, BG
Institute of Health Information and Statistics, Prague, CZ
National Bureau of Health Statistics, Tallinn, EE
National Information Center for Health Care, Budapest, HU
Medical Stastistics Bureau, Riga, LV
Lithuanian Health Information Center, Vilnius, LT
Baltic Amadeus, Vilnius, LT
National Institute of Hygiene, Warsaw, PL
National Institute of Health Information, Bucharest, RO
National Center for Health Promotion, Bratislava, SK
Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, SI

CONTACT POINT

Mr. Arun Nanda
Tel: +45 39 17 12 99
Fax: +45 39 17 18 95
E-mail: ARN@who.dk

CARE SUPPORT - CP94-334, May 1997

please address enquiries to the ESPRIT Information Desk

html version of synopsis by Nick Cook