Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:45:51 +0530 From: Subbiah Arunachalam <arun@mssrf.res.in> How can health management information systems (HMIS) be successfully introduced in low-income countries? Research coordinated by the University of Sheffield examined the introduction of HMIS in Uganda and identified the problems experienced in the process. Can the introduction of HMIS support the decentralisation of the Ugandan health service? Can it assist real organisational change at the local level? The transition to primary healthcare (PHC) oriented health systems in many low-income countries has influenced need for more health information to be effectively collected from health units and made accessible at the local level. In response, HMIS is a tool that allows for the decentralised local level management of health systems. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified this area as a priority in low-income countries.