Utility of an information system for primary care

Objective: To know the usefulness and applicability of an information system for basic health areas put into operation 16 years ago. Design: Descriptive study of selected indicators registered in 1994 and 2004. Setting: Basic health areas of Barcelona, Spain. Participants: Population living in Barcelona, Spain, during 1994 and 2004. Measurements: The following indicators were described, and standardized taking the Barcelona 2004 population as reference: proportion of foreign population, proportion of unemployment, number of mothers less than 20 years old, AIDS incidence rate, tuberculosis incidence rate, and traffic accident, ischaemic disease, lung cancer (for men), breast cancer (for women), and total mortality rates. Results were presented for one basic health area, its corresponding district, and Barcelona. Moreover, users of the information system were interviewed about their level of knowledge, and the adequacy, usefulness, and limitations of the system. Results: Disaggregated annual information allows comparing indicators between different fields and years. The information system was found useful to users to describe the level of health of the community and to design preventive interventions. Conclusions: Although some of the indicators did not show the desired level of accuracy, the information system for basic health areas showed to be useful to know the level of health of the population assigned to primary healthcare teams.