THE THEME OF THE DISCUSSION IS THAT INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS CONTRIBUTE TO THE SURVIVAL OF HUMAN SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS BY PRODUCING INFORMATION THAT ASSESSES THE PATTERN OF SERVICE DELIVERY, DEFINES RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS AND USES, PROVIDES MONITORING AIDS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS AND MANAGERS, DEVELOPS DATA TO MEET REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, AND ASSESSES SERVICE OUTCOMES. THE DEPENDENCE OF INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS ON LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS (STRATEGIC PLANNING, TACTICAL OR MANAGERIAL CONTROL , OPERATIONAL CONTROL) AND ON ORGANIZATIONAL FUNCTION (SERVICES, LOGISTICS, PERSONNEL, FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING, INFORMATION PROCESSING, CLIENT RECORDS) IS DISCUSSED. THE PROCESS OF DEFINING ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS IS OUTLINED. THE DIFFERING INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS OF THREE PROGRAM AREAS--CLINICAL OR TREATMENT MONITORING, RESEARCH, AND MANAGEMENT--ARE CONSIDERED, AND POINTS AT WHICH THE THREE AREAS OVERLAP ARE NOTED. THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF EACH CONCEPTUAL CONTENT ELEMENT OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS--ACCOUNTING, COSTFINDING, BUDGETING, STATISTICS, OUTCOME--ARE IDENTIFIED, AND EXAMPLES OF APPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION FROM EACH ELEMENT ARE CITED. THE OPERATING ELEMENTS OF A HUMAN SERVICE INFORMATION SYSTEM--PHYSICAL COMPONENTS (HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OPERATING PROCEDURES, PERSONNEL, ETC.), PROCESSING FUNCTIONS, DATA-GATHERING INSTRUMENTS, REPORTS--ARE DESCRIBED. TWO APPROACHES TO DESIGNING HUMAN SERVICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARE THE HIERARCHICAL AND SYSTEMS APPROACHES. THE SYSTEMS APPROACH OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE MORE TRADITIONAL HIERARCHICAL APPROACH AS A MEANS OF CONCEPTUALIZING THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SUBSYSTEMS. WITHIN THE SYSTEMS APPROACH, DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS (ANALOGOUS TO DECENTRALIZED DATA PROCESSING IN HIERARCHICAL DESIGN) POSSESS SOME DEGREE OF INTEGRATION, AND INTEGRATED SYSTEMS (ANALOGOUS TO CENTRALIZED DATA PROCESSING) POSSESS SOME DISTRIBUTION. FACTORS FAVORING INTEGRATION OR DISTRIBUTION ARE OUTLINED. THE THREE MAJOR PHASES OF THE SYSTEMS DESIGN PROCESS ARE PRELIMINARY DESIGN, DETAILED DESIGN, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DESIGN. GUIDELINES FOR USING SYSTEMS DESIGN TO ACHIEVE INTEGRATION OF HUMAN SERVICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARE OFFERED, TOGETHER WITH A PARTIAL LIST OF INFORMATION SYSTEM COSTS. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LKM)