feasibility of implementing national health information infrastructure in iran, 2009

introduction: non-integrated health information has forced health sector to utilize information and communication technology (ict). national health information infrastructure (nhii) integrates clinical and health information, decreases medical errors as well as costs, and increases patient’s safety. thus, this article aimed to review the feasibility of nhii implementation in iran from perspective of ict experts in ministry of health and other health-related organizations in 2009. methods: this survey was conducted after identifying the nhii. the study population consisted of ict managers and experts, and sample size was equal to the sample population. the data were collected through interviewing and by means of questionnaire. the questionnaire was confirmed by health information management and ict experts. the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by content validity and its reliability by test-retest method (r = 0.84). data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. results: despite a relationship between ministry of health and other health-related organizations, only 14.28% of the organizations had fully integrated computerized information system and were ready to connect to the ministry of health. cultural, economic, and infrastructural problems were 92.30% and lack of standards and legal issues with 84.61% were the most important barriers for implementing nhii in iran. conclusion: due to the lack of required infrastructures, implementing nhii in iran is impossible. developing culture, privacy laws enactment and ict in addition to governmental supervision for establishing required infrastructures should be implemented.