Which of the following is NOT a function of Hospital Information System (HIS)?

Appeared in: NHM UP Staff Nurse-2023 shift 1st

Explanation

Counselling is a therapeutic, interpersonal communication process between a healthcare professional and a patient or their family.
It is a human service, not an automated function that can be performed by a software system like an HIS.
While the HIS is used to document that a counselling session occurred and to store any related notes, it does not perform the counselling itself.
The other options listed are all standard administrative or clinical management functions handled by HIS modules.

Option A: Blood bank operations are a standard module in a comprehensive HIS.
Option B: Managing the transfer of patients is a core function of the Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) module within an HIS.
Option D: Patient registration is one of the most fundamental and initial functions of any HIS.

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Knowing Functions of Hospital Information System (HIS) helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
Nurses are primary users of the HIS for documenting patient care, administering medications (eMAR), retrieving lab results, and coordinating patient transfers (ADT).
Understanding the scope of HIS helps nurses appreciate its role in patient safety (e.g., allergy alerts) and workflow efficiency, while also recognizing its limitations.
What if a nurse needs to document a sensitive patient conversation? The nurse would use the HIS to enter a progress note in the patient's electronic health record, ensuring confidentiality and continuity of care. The HIS facilitates the documentation, but the therapeutic interaction is the nurse's professional skill.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the core concept of the question, which is the 'function of a Hospital Information System (HIS)'.
Note the negative keyword 'NOT'. This means you are looking for the option that is an exception, something an HIS does not do.
Think about what an HIS is: a computer system for managing information and hospital processes.
Evaluate each option: 'Blood bank operation', 'Transfer of patients', and 'Patient registration' are all tasks involving data management, tracking, and record-keeping, which are typical for a computer system.
'Counselling' is a human-to-human therapeutic interaction. A computer system can store records about it, but it cannot perform the act itself.
Therefore, 'Counselling' is the activity that is not a direct function of the HIS software.

Concept Tested & Keywords

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E6 Textbook of Nursing Management and Leadership I. Clemen — Subpart A (pp 26-327 of 982) pp. 226-228, 227-229

Practise the full NHM UP Staff Nurse-2023 shift 1st

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.