Public Health Rep

Human service organization are beset by internal and external requests for information. As the scale and complexity of such delivery systems has increased, the use of computer-based information systems has become a necessity. The evolution of a client information system in a large, decentralized mental health center is reviewed in this paper to illustrate several critical issues that can be encountered in the application of computer-based technology to human services. An analysis of the center's existing information system and the development of the data forms and procedures necessary for a second-generation system to meet information needs revealed the unique data structure and analysis problems of human service delivery systems. These problems were complicated by regulatory agencies' imposition of external reporting requirements that frequently were unpredictable and inconsistent. Finally, planning and negotiations with the participation of all involved parties demonstrated that formal and informal administrative constraints and conflicting interests within human service organizations must be accommodated or a system may fail. All of these factors combine to highlight both the problems and the need for highly flexible multipurpose information systems.7255661PMCnul