Hospital Information System in Iran: Findings from a Systematic Literature Review

Although information technology has developed in healthcare and arrived in Iran about two decades ago، there are no systematic reviews to depict the related studies in Iran. This study was carried out to systematically review the studies conducted on the HIS in Iran. In this systematic review، we used the HIS related key words and searched the related databases from 1968 to July 2011. After removal of non-related articles and repetitive studies، a total of 61 articles were retrieved. Finally، 25 articles were selected for the review. A standard form with special data elements was used to summarize the articles. Data obtained from this form were analyzed using the descriptive statistics. Most of the articles (48%) had a descriptive، cross-sectional design. In most cases (28%)، the HIS was the population of studies. The results showed that 36 and 24 percent of the papers had focused on HIS situation، and outcomes-capabilities، respectively. Other studies had considered other aspects of the HIS. According to the results of this study، quantity of the conducted studies on HIS in Iran is not satisfactory; and most of the published articles are descriptive studies. Studying different aspects of the HIS including technical، ethical and legal aspects are recommended.