The Development and Progress of Health Information Technology in Iran

Abstract

Background and Aims

Health information technology (HIT) is a vital field within medical science that emerged in the early 2000s to meet the growing demand for IT solutions in healthcare. This article aims to provide an overview of HIT, focusing on the educational programs available, their enrollment capacity across various courses, and the advancements in HIT within Iranian medical universities from its inception to the present day.

Methods

The study compiles comprehensive information regarding the educational programs, detailing their components, historical development, including past curriculum units, establishment years of different university degrees, and student enrollment capacities across Iranian universities.

Results

The findings outline the characteristics of the curriculum, including unit details and semester structures within the School of Allied Medical Sciences. Additionally, it highlights the development and progress of educational programs, past curricula, course units, establishment years of various university courses, and student enrollment capacities nationwide.

Conclusion

This study sheds light on the development of HIT in Iran, which began in the 1980s in response to the increasing need for IT in healthcare. The transition from paper-based medical records to electronic systems in the 1990s marked a significant shift, leading to the rebranding of medical documentation as HIT. This transition has established a modern framework for knowledge management and secure information exchange in the health sector. The article defines HIT, discusses its background, and provides an overview of educational processes along with changes and diversity in course offerings and student attraction within Iranian medical universities. This perspective has been developed over many years.