National information policy and the Nigeria’s National Health Information Infrastructure: implications on healthcare services delivery

Abstract

Information policy is any law, regulation, rule, or practice (written or unwritten), that affects the creation, acquisition, organization, dissemination, and/or evaluation of information1. Most often, information policy is discussed in terms of governmental legislation possibly because, information itself is often viewed as a national resource that substantially benefits a country in its social and economic growth1,2. The concept of a national information policy became possible only because political leaders around the world came to recognize that, in fact, laws and regulations affecting information are actually matters of high policy of overarching strategic importance3. Information policy is indeed a broad concept. It covers any aspect of policy making at any organizational; local, national or international level that has impact on information flow whether electronic or any other format, and that the potential benefits are not all economic.