Patients' Trust in Public Health System Mediated by Hospital Information Systems in Context of LMIC

摘要

Public health information systems in LMICs have an been studied in the context of primary health care while systems in district hospitals have not attracted the required attention. This is a sad neglect, given that district hospitals in LMICs cater to a high proportion of the population in a district and also provide life-saving healthcare services. ICTs have played a significant role in improving social trust in LMICs and we explore this in context of public health in India. While getting hospital information systems to work in district settings is a non-trivial and expensive challenge, it becomes imperative to understand what benefits citizens experience with the introduction of such systems. Drawing from an empirical base of a successful 10-year implementation of a hospital information system across a network of 20+ district hospitals in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, the authors use the conceptual perspective of institutional and interpersonal trusts to analyze the perceived benefits seen for patients, and how this has helped shape patient trust towards the technological intervention and the hospital from where they avail services.