Decline in mortality with the Belize Integrated Patient-Centred Country Wide Health Information System (BHIS) with embedded program management.

BACKGROUND

Belize deployed a country-wide fully integrated patient centred health information system with eight embedded disease management algorithms and simple analytics in 2007 for $4 (Cad)/citizen.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated BHIS uptake by health care workers, and pre and post BHIS deployment mortality in selected areas and public health care expenditures.

METHODS

BHIS encounter data were compared to encounter data from required Ministry of Health reports from licensed health care entities. De-identified vital statistics death data for the eight BHIS protocol disease domains and three non-protocol domains were compared from 2005 to 2011. Belize population data came from the Statistical Institute of Belize (2005-2009) and from Belize census (2010) and estimate (2011). Public health system expenditures were compared by fiscal years (2000-2012).

RESULTS

BHIS captured over 90% healthcare encounters by year one, 95% by year two. Mortality rates decreased in the eight BHIS protocol domains (each 2005 vs. 2011, all p<0.02) vs. an increase or little change in the three domains without protocols. Hypertension related deaths dropped from 1st cause of death in 2003 to 9th by 2010. Public expenditures on healthcare steadily rose until 2009 but then declined slightly for the next 3 years.

CONCLUSION

For modest investment, BHIS was well accepted nationwide and following deployment, mortality in the eight BHIS disease management algorithm domains declined significantly and expenditures on public healthcare stabilized.