What is a HIS?

A HIS, or Hospital information system, is an element of health informatics that focuses mainly on the administrational needs of a hospital. Usually, it’s an integrated information system designed to manage all the aspects of a hospital’s operation, such as medical, administrative, financial, and legal issues and the corresponding services.So, in short, it is the main software that runs all aspects of a hospital. Another name for a Hospital information system is also Hospital Management Software (HMS) or Hospital Management System.

Usually, a Hospital information systems is the main source of information about a patient’s health history, and doctors schedule. Laboratory tests are also stored in the HIS, as well as other information regarding the patient’s file. Usually, a HIS is connected to a PACS, in order to be able to retrieve medical images for a patient.

Some frequent questions about HIS:

Is a HIS absolutely necessary? In any modern hospital, there is a need for a computer system that takes care of all the administrative work and management tasks. So, yes, a HIS is necessary today.
Is a HIS the only software necessary for a hospital? Usually it depends on the hospital and how it is integrated with other systems, but usually a HIS works together with a PACS (at least) or a RIS (Radiology Information System) in order to retrieve patients’ diagnostic images.
Can I integrate a HIS with other systems? Of course. To achieve a smooth workflow in the hospital operations a HIS is usally integrated with several other systems (see above question). Which ones depends on every case.
Does a HIS manage patients appointments? Yes. Generally it is the main database for all patients’ appointments, diagnostics and analytics.
Does a HIS contain clinical documentation? Yes. This way a doctor can pull up the patient’s file and see all present and historical relevant data about the patient.

Our image analytics, management and storage platform Videoma Health, in its both versions: Videoma PACS and Videoma for OR, can integrate with any HIS.

Key Features of HIS:

Systems integration: All the HIS systems are integrate usually with several other hospital systems, so they normally provide an API or other means of connection to external systems.
EHR (Electronic Health Record): A HIS usually contains all the records for a certain patient, both current and historical, so the doctors can have an accurate knowledge of the patient.
Unification: Having all the information relevant to the hospital in one place (financial, medical, management, etc.) is a big advantage, as several departments can use the same software, and the same data.
Security & Privacy: All HIS systems have to compliant with national ond/or international regulations, like, for instance, GDPR or HIPAA, in order to guarantee safekeeping of the patient's data.