Comparing the importance and planning of information technology in education and general hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences (2006)

Background: Today, the information technology extension is among the inseparable parts of any economical, social, and cultural policies. Thus, every organization including the hospitals is forced to employ the most appropriate strategy and planning associated with application of information technology. Objective: The aim of the present work was to determine the rate of importance of IT in hospitals, planning for application of IT and also the most important cases of IT application in hospitals and the effect of hospital demographic specifications on IT importance. Methods: This was a descriptive study carried out in all educational and general hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences. A research questionnaire, assessed for validity and permanency, was the study tool completed by directors of medical documents or statistics and information office. The data were further analyzed by descriptive statistics and SPSS software. Findings: Our data indicated that the majority of people in charge of libraries or IT centers believe the importance of IT in managing hospital affairs (on the average 4.41 in educational hospitals and 4.52 in general hospitals). However, the managers were shown to have less support for allocating enough budgets to implement IT (on the average 3.30 in educational hospitals and 2.81 in general hospitals). In addition, it was shown that 44.44% of educational hospitals and 40% of general hospitals have no planning for application and extension of IT and it was the managerial affairs as an issue with higher priority to be dealt with. Conclusion: Considering the benefits associated with application of IT, it is necessary for hospitals to prepare a comprehensive program for exploitation and extension of IT through allocation of appropriate budget. Also, holding educational courses, proper control and supervision by the ministry of health and medical education is recommended.