Health informatisation is an effective means to enhance the service capacity of primary healthcare institutions. Since the 12th Five-Year Plan, Sichuan Province has attached great importance to the construction of primary health informatisation, with a view to realising the enhancement of the management level and service capacity of primary healthcare institutions empowered by health information. However, there is a lack of research on the current status of health informatisation construction and application in the province.

Summarise the current situation and effectiveness of information technology construction in primary healthcare institutions in Sichuan Province.

From May to June 2023, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 143 district and county health administrative departments and 1 028 primary healthcare organisations in 21 cities and states in Sichuan Province using stratified random sampling method. The questionnaires were developed in terms of information personnel, information infrastructure, information systems, and IT applications. The questionnaires were deployed in the unified primary healthcare platform at the provincial level and were filled in by personnel familiar with information technology construction in each primary healthcare institution.

In terms of personnel, 40.95 per cent (421/1 028) of the institutions had information staff, with an average of (0.48±1.12) part-time staff and (0.25±1.08) full-time staff per institution. Information standardisation has been completed in primary healthcare institutions, forming a pattern of coordinated construction at the provincial level. In terms of system construction, 98.83 per cent (1 016/1 028), 99.61 per cent (1 024/1 028) and 99.32 percent (1 021/1 028) were equipped with the HIS, the basic public health service system, and the contracted management system for family doctors, respectively, an average of (2.28±2.63) clinical service systems, (2.56±1.97) medical management systems, and (10.00±20.81) out-of-hospital/supervisory bar systems were used. In terms of technology application, the rate of electronic health records reached 94.93% (2 021/2 129), the total use of electronic medical records reached 77.43% (796/1 028), and 32.60% (1 091/3 347) of the institutions' TCM centres were connected to the Sichuan Provincial TCM Center Health Information Platform, which realized health record access, consultation contracting, consultation follow-up, and configuration of terminals for basic public health services accounted for 83.46% (858/1 028), 56.91% (585/1 028), 68.77% (707/1 028), and 81.91% (842/1 028), respectively, and 74.12% (762/1 028) of the institutions at the upper and lower levels of the healthcare consortium carried out business synergies.

Since the 'Twelfth Five-Year Plan', the overall construction of information technology in primary healthcare institutions in Sichuan Province has been better, showing the development trend of comprehensive consolidation of infrastructure, diversified development of basic medical service functions, integrated integration of basic public health service functions, gradual adaptation of information technology to the development of integrated healthcare service system, and continued expansion of the application of new technologies. Eco-application scenarios of primary healthcare informatisation.