Clinical Information Systems (CIS)
What is a Clinical Information System (CIS)?
A clinical information system (CIS) is a computerized system that captures, stores, and transfers medical information for clinical decision-makers.
CISs provide quick access to current patient data, including:
- Clinical notes
- Medication history
- Laboratory reports
- Images
- Reports
CISs can also import data from instruments such as vital signs monitors, ventilators, and infusion devices.
How does a CIS improve healthcare?
A CIS could improve patient safety, clinical workflow efficiency, and point-of-care decision support. Because CISs automate many manual activities, they reduce the risk of human error.
CISs may also reduce test and medication errors through dose adjustment, dose range checking, therapeutic duplication checks, formulary alerts, and drug-allergy and drug-drug interaction checks.
Additionally, CISs give healthcare providers immediate access to a patient’s medical information and history, providing them with important data when making clinical decisions at the bedside. This allows for improved communication across all healthcare providers caring for a patient.