Health Infrastructure

With the rapid proliferation of health information systems in low- and middle-income countries, there are ongoing efforts to incorporate architectural approaches to ensure interoperability and reduce fragmentation. A key component of this approach is a master facility list representing a standard list of health facilities. However, building and deploying mfl is a formidable challenge given the various socio-technical complexities. The theory of information infrastructures, which deal with large-scale, complex and distributed systems, provides guidance on how to approach such complexities. This paper suggests that Indian mfl has failed to create the heterogeneous socio-technical network around it, and been unsuccessful in creating value for initial group of users and subsequently building growth momentum. Also, it failed in making itself adaptable to different applications and use contexts. Three sets of recommendation for its improvement include enabling governance structure, adopting flexible design architecture and making active efforts to promote mfl use.