Quiz 11: Health information systems

Please choose the one, most correct answer to each question or statement.

1. Which of the following best describes a good health information system?
   • A good health information system collects information about healthcare activities so staff can be monitored
   • A good health information system collects, analyses and communicates information
   • A good health information system provides up to date information about new protocols
   • A good health information system is designed to track use of resources in order to prevent theft
2. What is the most important feature of data collection in a good health information system?
   • Data collection is compulsory with disciplinary action for non-compliant staff
   • Data collection is optional depending on whether staff have time
   • Staff should be able to use their own mobile devices
   • The data collected is as accurate and complete as possible
3. What is the most important feature of data use in a good health information system?
   • The information collected is used to improve clinical care
   • All users have an individual user name and password
   • Use is restricted to planners at head office
   • It can be converted into Powerpoint slides
4. Does the data collection in a good health information system have to be electronic?
   • Yes. Paper systems are very out of date
   • No. Paper systems are better because most people are confused by electronic systems
   • No. Good electronic systems are preferable because they are quicker and less prone to error, but a well-designed paper system is preferable to a badly designed electronic system
   • Yes. The data collected by an electronic system is always more complete and accurate
5. What is a “user interface”?
   • It refers to the style of keyboard on a mobile phone
   • It refers to the way in which a user interacts with a computer programme
   • It refers to the skills of the person using an eHealth system
   • It refers to the size of a computer screen
6. What are the features of an information system with a good user interface?
   • It can be quickly and easily used by most people and collects important information
   • It can be used by specially trained data entry clerks to enter information from paper forms
   • It can be used by most people as long as they have matric level education
   • It is stylish and colourful
7. A hospital wishes to use an electronic system to capture its caseload. What is likely to happen if there is a poor user interface?
   • The hospital will be able to capture data more accurately than by using paper records
   • Staff will use their own mobile devices instead of hospital computers
   • More staff will become computer literate
   • Data entry will be inaccurate and incomplete
8. How can a good user interface be achieved?
   • By contracting out services to private IT companies
   • By information technology experts taking account of the experiences of the people who use the system
   • By disciplining staff who do not use it correctly
   • By not changing the programme after it has been implemented
9. After information has been analysed, who should have access to the results of the analysis?
   • Senior managers only as they are the ones who make decisions about services
   • Facility staff only as they are the only ones in a position to improve care
   • Anybody working in the system should have access to information related to their area of work
   • Anybody, including the general public, should have access to all health and healthcare information at all times
10. Which of these the best example of using eHealth to support decision making?
    • Use of a poison information website
    • Regular journal clubs
    • Electronic booking of outpatient appointments
    • Sending appointment reminders to patients by SMS
11. A young person has been diagnosed with HIV and is feeling lonely and isolated. How could eHealth best help him?
    • He will be able to use eHealth systems to book his outpatient appointments
    • He will be able to SMS his doctor about any concerns
    • He can use the internet to find a support group
    • He can use the internet to find out the latest advances in HIV treatment
12. Why is mHealth particularly important in African health systems?
    • Mobile telephone networks transfer information more quickly than the internet
    • Most people have access to mobile telephone networks, fewer have access to computers and the internet.
    • Mobile telephone networks transfer information over longer distances than the internet
    • Most people have access to computers and the internet, fewer have access to mobile telephone networks
13. Which statement about eHealth and mHealth is true?
    • eHealth means transferring healthcare and health information by electronic means while mHealth is a type of eHealth that focuses on the use of mobile devices, particularly mobile telephone networks
    • eHealth and mHealth mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably
    • In South Africa, eHealth is used more widely than mHealth to communicate with patients because most people now have access to the internet
    • eHealth relies mainly on SMS messaging while mHealth requires the use of “apps”
14. What is the best example of the “informal” use of eHealth by health professionals, particularly doctors?
    • A doctor in a rural hospital sends an SMS to a specialist and uses their first name
    • A doctor uses his smart phone to add a patient to a clinic list, using the hospital booking system
    • A doctor asks a relative to send an SMS to a patient to ask why she did not attend clinic
    • A doctor takes a picture of a chest X-ray with his smart phone and sends it via email to a colleague for an opinion
15. Which statement about the future use of eHealth systems in Africa is true?
    • eHealth is only used in South Africa
    • eHealth is an approach for more advanced economies and African countries must first focus on getting basic healthcare right
    • To date, there have been no successful large scale eHealth or mHealth projects in Africa
    • eHealth and mHealth approaches are likely to be particularly beneficial in Africa
16. Which of these is the best example of using eHealth to improve quality of care?
    • Staff can speak to each other while on vacation
    • Specialists can be contacted for a “virtual consultation”
    • Nurses can scold patients when they fail to attend follow-up clinic
    • Doctors can order take-away lunches so they do not have to leave the hospital
17. Which of these is the best example of using eHealth to store and share patient information between healthcare providers?
    • Requesting outpatient appointments by SMS
    • A rural doctor can make a cellphone call to a secretary and have a discharge summary faxed from a referral hospital
    • Discharge summaries are stored in an electronic database that can be accessed by a registered doctor from any hospital or clinic in the province
    • Discharge summaries are stored in an electronic database but can only be accessed by a doctor working in that hospital
18. How can an elderly lady with badly controlled high blood pressure be helped to take her medication every day?
    • Referring her to a website with information about high blood pressure
    • Sending pictures of people with strokes and other complications of high blood pressure to her mobile phone
    • It is inappropriate to use eHealth/mHealth in the elderly as they cannot understand it
    • A system that sends automatic reminders to take her tablets to her mobile phone
19. In South Africa, the mHealth project that provides ongoing support and education to midwives is called:
    • MomConnect
    • NurseConnect
    • MidwifeConnect
    • NatalConnect
20. What is the most important consideration for health professionals when using informal eHealth systems to communicate with each other about patients?
    • Confidentiality
    • Interoperability
    • Bandwidth
    • Accountability