Hospital Information System (HIS)

Typically used to describe hospital computer systems with functions like patient admission and discharge, order entry for laboratory tests or medications, and billing functions.

Canada Health Infoway: An HIS is a computer-based medical record specific to the inpatient setting's organization. It is typically used by the facility's multi-disciplinary care team for patient record keeping. It is the repository for information from ancillary systems within the organization such as diagnostic test (e.g., laboratory and imaging) and pharmacy. It holds consultant reports, pre- and post-operative reports, and nursing observations and reports, among others. In addition, it is used for order entry for medications and tests, alerts, reminders, and clinical decision support. These systems typically support hospital operational functions such as facility scheduling (e.g., operating room, diagnostic imaging), bed management, human resource management, and billing. Clinical, operational and financial analytics and reporting capabilities are also supported. Emerging are patient-centred capabilities directly into the HIS for booking appointments and viewing data and for secure communication with the clinicians.