A new era in hospital management is to be introduced for Western Cape regional and district hospitals during the weekend of 1 February 2004, when the Health Information System for patient administration and billing becomes operational at the Victoria Hospital in Wynberg.

The new system offers a number of benefits, including:

1. improved keeping of patient medical records;
2. the smoother flow of inpatient admissions;
3. better monitoring of patient movement within the hospital; and
4. more efficient management of outpatient visits, including an outpatient appointment booking system.

The system will also provide improved operational reporting and will greatly improve the availability of statistical information about patient services.

The billing system, in particular, will improve the hospital billing system and enhance efficiency in the collection of patient fees. The more fees collected, the more money there is to improve health services.

According to Dr Paul von Zeuner, Director: Information Management at Health Western Cape, there is great excitement at Victoria about the introduction of HIS. "We've had to overcome a number of obstacles to get to this second phase of HIS, but I'm sure that our patients and our staff will appreciate the significant benefits that the system offers."

"Of course, there may be a few hiccups," says Dr Tracy Eastman, HIS Project Leader. "We appeal for tolerance from our clients and patients should delays in patient services occur during the initial stages of the conversion process. However, we firmly believe that the new system will improve our service delivery to all our patients and clients considerably."

Once the implementation at Victoria Hospital is successful, the HIS will be activated at Stellenbosch Hospital on 1 March and at Mowbray Maternity Hospital on 1 April.

For more information, please contact:
Dr Tracy Eastman (Project Leader)
Tel: 021 938 6715
Cell: 082 555 1966