Session 1

Introduction to Health Management Information System (HMIS/MTUHA)

HMIS was introduced throughout the country during the period 1994 through 1997.

HMIS is a decentralized, integrated and functional system.

It covers all health programs and health care services.

HMIS is the system designed to collect facility based health and health related data, compile, store and retrieve for data analysis to produce report which in turn inform service providers, health managers, decision markers/policy makers and the public to make informed decision on health planning, monitoring and evaluation.

HMIS in Tanzania in Kiswahili is called MTUHA.

MTUHA is the acronym for ‘Mfumo wa Taarifa za Uendeshaji wa Huduma za Afya’.

Provides each facility with information which allows the staff to accurately evaluate and then appropriately modify the activities, in order for the health facility to provide optimal health care and health prevention for its communities.

Assists the in-charge and staff in the management of the health facility.

Outpatient department (including dental and eye clinics)

Inpatient department (IPD)

Diagnostics services (laboratory and X-ray)

Reproductive child health (RCH) services

Pharmacy

Pathology department

Medical records department

Administration

Accounts

Community (Book 3)

Confidentiality

All service providers using HMIS (MTUHA) system are subjected to confidentiality regarding MTUHA data.

All health facility patient and client records are strictly confidential and should not be handled by or exposed to unauthorized person.

Authorized persons include the following groups

Health personnel who is under employment in the hospital and whose duties require the handling of patient/client records.

Health personnel of the district medical office (DMO).

Health personnel of the regional medical office (RMO).

Health personnel of ministry of health and social welfare institutions and programmes.

Officials of the ministry of health and social welfare headquarters.

Any other person officially designated by the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Serious disciplinary steps will be taken where there is proof of negligence on this issue of confidentiality.

HMIS facilitates good management of a health facility through

Monitoring the staff: Number of staff, work stations, and work schedule

Monitoring workloads: Determining proper allocation of the staff based on workloads.

Monitoring expenditure for improvement, maintenance and salaries

Monitoring and discussing problems, ideas for improvement, special events in staff meetings and further actions as needed.

HMIS facilitates good maintenance of essential equipments in the facility.

It facilitates the projection and procurement of required medical and non medical supplies.

HMIS facilitates improvement of the quality of health care provided through:

Improving coverage of preventive services

Lowering the morbidity and mortality in served population

HMIS (MTUHA) has five sets of tools which are used in health facilities.

Most of these tools are arranged in books. The twelve HMIS (MTUHA) books/registers are as follows:

Book 1: HMIS (MTUHA) Guidelines

Book 2: Facility and Hospital Summary Book

Book 3: Community book

Book 4: Ledger book

Book 5: OPD register

Book 6: Antenatal care register

Book 8: Family planning register

Book 9: Diarrhoea treatment corner

Book 10: Report book

Book 11: Dental register

Book 12: Delivery book

Set 1: Guidelines

MTUHA guideline is the book used as reference and or instruction manual to other books/registers (Books 2–12).

Each facility is supposed to have at least one copy accessible to all service providers at all time.

These are tools used in collecting the data (Book 3, Book 4, Book 5, Book 6, Book 7, Book 8, Book 9, Book 11 and Book 12).

Two books which do not have numbers are inpatient and post natal.

These are four forms used at the facility level to summarize data from specific health service area in a given period of time. These are:

Form F201 – children attendance

Form F202 – immunization

Form F203 – general tally sheet

Form F204 – neonatal tetanus

There are facilities and district report forms used for reporting daily, monthly quarterly and annually. Some are found in Book 10 and district processing file (DPF).

Reporting forms at facility level are monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual forms (Book 10) which consist of:

F001 Staff List Report (annual)

F002 Equipment inventory (annual)

F003 Status of buildings report (annual)

F004 Management report (quarterly)

F005 Management report (annual)

F008 Equipment breakdown report (annual)

F009 Notifiable diseases/ outbreak (emergency)

Reporting forms at district and regional level

D001 – Staff report

D004 – Quarterly management report (one copy is sent to the ministry of health and social welfare)

D005 – Annual report

District processing file (DPF)

District report

There are 5 sets of MTUHA tools.

There are 12 books within the five sets of MTUHA tools.

There are 4 types of tally Sheets.

There are eight different reports (F001, F002, F003, F004, F005, F006, F008 and F009) for facility level and district/regional levels.