Making the case for strong health information systems during a pandemic and beyond

Abstract

Background The Sars-CoV-2 pandemic exacerbates existing inequalities across health care systems globally, both within countries and between countries. It also highlights, like no other crisis before, existing weaknesses in health information systems (HIS). This article summarizes these key challenges for HIS in times of a pandemic and beyond, with a focus on European countries. It builds on the experiences of a large consortium representing HIS experts in key positions in national public health or similar institutes across Europe. Methods Data were collected in bi-weekly conference calls organized by the InfAct project between February and June 2020. Emerging themes were clustered and analysed around a WHO framework for health information systems (HIS). We analyse strengths of HIS at two levels: (i) dealing with health information directly, and (ii) dealing with other parts of information systems that allow for a holistic assessment of the pandemic (including health-related aspects). Results The analysis highlights the need for capacity-building in HIS before a pandemic hits, the relevance of going beyond health information only related to health care but taking a broader perspective (e.g. on vulnerable groups), the need for strong reporting systems on staffing numbers and in primary care. Further, data linkage emerges as a crucial precondition to identify unmet needs for essential health care services in a timely manner. Finally, room for innovation and digitalisation is key to be able to react flexibly in times of crisis. Trust for health information stakeholders is another important factor to create strong HIS. Conclusions The strengths and shortcomings of European HIS that have been observed during the COVID-19 crisis highlight the need for strong HIS beyond the crisis. The experiences reported leave as a central message that successful reactions to the pandemic are (also) grounded in strong HIS that ultimately not only benefit the health of the population but also create a number of economic and psycho-social benefits. Strong data reporting schemes may also support fine-tuning of containment measures during a pandemic as well as transition phases.

Access to Epidemic Information and Life Satisfaction under the Period of COVID-19: the Mediating Role of Perceived Stress and the Moderating Role of Friendship Quality

“…This negative relationship may be due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which leads to the public’s strong demand for information on epidemics. As a public health emergency of international concern, COVID-19 is easy to cause a huge threat to the safety of public life and property, which arouses a strong public demand for access to epidemic information and generates perceived stress (Schmidt et al, 2021 ). As people who are affected by the pandemic focusing more on accessing epidemic information, they will perceive stress when they find the useful information insufficient, such as incomplete information (Guere, 2021 ).…”

Health Information Systems in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Short Survey of Experiences and Lessons Learned From the European Region

“…The pandemic has also exacerbated existing inequalities across HIS globally and highlighted their weaknesses. Although funding was released to support HIS during the emergency, the systems should be prepared for any health crisis in advance ( 4 ). Unfortunately, COVID-19 will not be the last global health emergency; thus, it is paramount that both regular funding and government support are secured to continue the implementation and improvement of health information management ( 11 ).…”

“…Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic in severity and scale, HIS capabilities in many countries were overwhelmed by the information demands and the challenges encountered. Multiple technological gaps were exposed, especially in low and middle-income countries ( 3 , 4 ). Initial challenges ranged from new demands on key contributors at each health system level, who were already overburdened by the pandemic, to the urgency in determining how to effectively document seamless, continuous COVID-19 processes in electronic health record-embedded (EHR) databases ( 5 ).…”

Improving morbidity information in Portugal: Evidence from data linkage of COVID-19 cases surveillance and mortality systems

“…Although health information exchange within HIS should be promoted beyond the COVID-19 crisis [4] , the relevance of a robust and interoperable HIS for public health decision-making [9] has been highlighted during this pandemic. [4] , [10] Throughout this health crisis, measures such as the surveillance of infections, contact tracing and the characterisation of deaths have been essential to monitor the overall epidemic impact and generate evidence to inform policymaking in adjusting or implementing other public health interventions.…”