Quality of the Mental Health Information System in a Specialized Mental Hospital in Bangladesh

A good quality Mental Health Information System (MHIS) is essential for the efficient planning and delivery of appropriate care services. Accurate, valid, reliable, complete, legible, timely and accessible data is a vital element to achieve this goal. This study aims to identify the limitations of the MHIS of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Bangladesh, by reviewing available data and make recommendations for improvement. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted at NIMH from July to September 2016. Secondary data was collected from various hospital records and reports and was quantitatively analyzed to assess data quality and the MHIS. National quantitative and survey reports were also reviewed. Routine data collected at the NIMH is of poor quality in terms of accuracy and validity, reliability, and completeness. Access to data and the data's timeliness were also found to be sub-optimal. Various data collection formats were used for monthly and yearly reports at various time points, which has limited the scope of data analysis for further use. The quality of NIMH data is inadequate, thus limiting its usefulness and requiring effective measures for improvement.