Strategic information systems planning for national public health services in Israel

The development of a strategic information systems planning for the national public health services in Israel is described. The organization involved provides health insurance and health services to its members. The organizational environment is complex and dynamic, and it is characterized by a competition from recently established similar organizations. As a result of these conditions management has recognized the importance of effective use of the information resource for organizational survival. This recognition has motivated drive for strategic planning of information systems and triggered this study. The analysis has led to choice of a fully-distributed system, based on a hierarchical network of computers and partitioned databases.< >