District health information systems in the public sector: health centres in Korea

The public health sector in South Korea introduced district health information systems (DHIS) in health centres in the early 1990s. DHIS aimed to help health centres to provide comprehensive health care services and to achieve effective and efficient management of their works. District health information systems are still being implemented in health centres. Information generated and collected through the systems is to be used by local authorities to plan and manage health services in their areas, and further by the central government to make a health plan and health policy at the national level. However, the adoption and implementation of DHIS by health centres does not meet the initial anticipation. Moreover, reasons for that have not been explored yet. This paper presents the development of DHIS for health centres in Korea, evaluates the project focusing on impacts and problems found in implementing the systems, and provides lessons and recommendations for establishing a nationwide health information network.