A key requirement of a health information system is that the information contained in the system is available in many different formats that are familiar to the end-users. Many health information personnel are familiar with standard office productivity packages such as Microsoft Office™ or OpenOffice. Production of reports in Excel format allows health workers to submit reports to managers and other persons that may not have access to the HMIS, or lack training in its use. Excel offers the capability to deliver powerful, user-friendly reports to many different clients of the information system.

Users, especially health workers, can use DHIS 2 easily with the new Excel reporting tool developed by HISP Vietnam team. This module has been based on HISP India team’s ideas and technologies. The module has subsequently been merged into the main DHIS2 application. This reporting tool with Excel output files uses less memory and is comparatively faster when compared to other reporting modules.