FUNDING INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITALS

Abstract

 The paper discusses funding of information systems in Nigerian University Teaching Hospitals in the face of increasing health challenges such as strange diseases like Ebola, Lassa fever, HIV/AIDs, Covid-19 and endemic persistent ones like malaria fever, dysentery, cholera etc affecting developing countries like Nigeria as a way to encourage routine evidence based medicine, a scientific medical best practice by doctors and other allied health practitioners that thrives on health information provided by information systems to fight disease. To do that the paper briefly examines the nature and types of information systems in Nigeria as well as sources for funds for information systems in university teaching hospitals. It further looks at the benefits of funding information systems in Nigerian university teaching hospitals and the problems associated with funding information systems as well as strategies for sustainable funding to encourage evidence based practice to reduce pressure on the few health practitioners and inadequate facilities in the health institutions. Some of the sustainable strategies include placing information systems on first line charge in funding, integrating same for assistance in government intervention programme such as TETFUND or any similar programme and concluded that the time to act on the proffered strategies is now through concerted and collaborative efforts.