Understanding lack of full implementation of ICT systems; case study of the Integrated Patient Management System at the National Health Laboratory

Abstract

As part of the e-Health strategy in 2004, The Government of Botswana introduced the Integrated Patient Management System (IPMS) designed to link all public health facilities by 2010 and improve patient management. However this objective was not reached and challenges have been observed. Using a case study at the National Health Laboratory, the main referral laboratory in Botswana, this study sought to identify the causes of the lack of full implementation. The site was selected as not all sections of the laboratory have IPMS implemented. Participants from two sections of the laboratory, namely the Microbiology and Chemistry sections, were interviewed to obtain data. From this study, it was observed that all participants noted a high frequency of system downtime and a need to improve the infrastructure of IPMS to better serve the facilities. It was noted that from the Microbiology section, IPMS did not meet the scope of requirements needed for their daily work routine whilst the Chemistry section cited a lack of standardised training and retraining schedule on IPMS. It is hoped that the results of the study will be used to conduct further studies at other public health facilities to identify similarities and differences to those observed at the National Health Laboratory with the goal of improving overall patient care in Botswana.