The Analysis and Design of Management Information Systems for Clinicians Available to Purchase

Clearly defined information is essential for rational decision‐making, planning and control, at all management levels. The current climate in the UK National Health Service dictates that clinicians should be more actively involved in management. However, no relevant and accurate information is routinely available on either the workload or work patterns of individual hospital departments. If clinicians were supplied with this they would then be in a better position to manage their own services. This paper provides a synopsis of the philosophy behind the design of management information systems and presents the results of a pilot study, which was undertaken in a hospital neurology department. The general guidance which emerges is that analysts must always concentrate on ivhat information is needed and the uses to which it will be put. A systems approach to design helps to: (i) define the information required; (ii) establish processes for data capture and analysis; and (iii) establish standards with which actual service performance can be compared (feedback control feature). The pilot study provided information on all stages of development. The systems approach employed could be applied within any clinical department, but doctors must be actively involved. Information derived from running the prototype provided insight into many aspects of work activity, organisation and use of resources within a neurology specialty. A comparison between actual service performance and standards of service as perceived by the consultant neurologists involved, was also undertaken.