Christian Nøhr

Comparing Approaches to Measuring the Adoption and Usability of Electronic Health Records: Lessons Learned from Canada, Denmark and Finland

Internationally, the adoption of health information technology is increasing. However, a number of issues have complicated the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). In addition to adoption issues, it is becoming increasingly recognized that healthcare providers face a variety of usability issues. In this paper, we consider approaches that have been taken to assess both adoption and usability of EHRs in Canada, Denmark and Finland. Although all three countries deploy surveys to assess adoption, the approach and focus of the surveys differs across the countries. In Denmark and Finland, these surveys are dedicated to assessing information technology (IT) usage; while in Canada, questions about IT usage are part of a larger physician survey. Regarding usability, approaches vary considerably. In Finland, the approach includes a national survey about EHR usability. In Canada, ratings of system usability are reported regionally on web sites; while in Denmark, regional study results are reported based on evaluation of commercial products. This paper highlights the need to consider different evaluation approaches internationally.

Modelling and implementing electronic health records in Denmark

The Danish Health IT strategy [1] points out that integration between electronic health records (EHR) systems has a high priority. A prerequisite for real integration and semantic interoperability is agreement of the data content and the information models. The National Board of Health is working on a common model for EHR, but it is not yet fully developed. At the same time several development and implementation projects are taking place at a regional level. These EHRs are built on information models from different vendors and are based on different integration platforms. The Danish EHR observatory, which has been monitoring the development of EHRs in Denmark since 1998, have analysed the challenges of using different information models and integration platforms. This paper also reports new tendencies in modelling and integration platforms globally and how this is reflected in the National development.

A comparative review of patient safety initiatives for national health information technology

OBJECTIVE To collect and critically review patient safety initiatives for health information technology (HIT). METHOD Publicly promulgated set of advisories, recommendations, guidelines, or standards potentially addressing safe system design, build, implementation or use were identified by searching the websites of regional and national agencies and programmes in a non-exhaustive set of exemplar countries including England, Denmark, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada and Australia. Initiatives were categorised by type and software systems covered. RESULTS We found 27 patient safety initiatives for HIT predominantly dealing with software systems for health professionals. Three initiatives addressed consumer systems. Seven of the initiatives specifically dealt with software for diagnosis and treatment, which are regulated as medical devices in England, Denmark and Canada. Four initiatives dealt with blood bank and image management software which is regulated in the USA. Of the 16 initiatives directed at unregulated software, 11 were aimed at increasing standardisation using guidelines and standards for safe system design, build, implementation and use. Three initiatives for unregulated software were aimed at certification in the USA, Canada and Australia. Safety is addressed alongside interoperability in the Australian certification programme but it is not explicitly addressed in the US and Canadian programmes, though conformance with specific functionality, interoperability, security and privacy requirements may lead to safer systems. England appears to have the most comprehensive safety management programme for unregulated software, incorporating safety assurance at a local healthcare organisation level based on standards for risk management and user interface design, with national incident monitoring and a response function. CONCLUSIONS There are significant gaps in the safety initiatives for HIT systems. Current initiatives are largely focussed on software. With the exception of diagnostic, prognostic, monitoring and treatment software, which are subject to medical device regulations in some countries, the safety of the most common types of HIT systems such as EHRs and CPOE without decision support is not being explicitly addressed in most nations. Appropriate mechanisms for safety assurance are required for the full range of HIT systems for health professionals and consumers including all software and hardware throughout the system lifecycle. In addition to greater standardisation and oversight to ensure safe system design and build, appropriate implementation and use of HIT is critical to ensure patient safety.

A Review and Framework for Categorizing Current Research and Development in Health Related Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Studies

OBJECTIVES The application of GIS in health science has increased over the last decade and new innovative application areas have emerged. This study reviews the literature and builds a framework to provide a conceptual overview of the domain, and to promote strategic planning for further research of GIS in health. METHOD The framework is based on literature from the library databases Scopus and Web of Science. The articles were identified based on keywords and initially selected for further study based on titles and abstracts. A grounded theory-inspired method was applied to categorize the selected articles in main focus areas. Subsequent frequency analysis was performed on the identified articles in areas of infectious and non-infectious diseases and continent of origin. RESULTS A total of 865 articles were included. Four conceptual domains within GIS in health sciences comprise the framework: spatial analysis of disease, spatial analysis of health service planning, public health, health technologies and tools. Frequency analysis by disease status and location show that malaria and schistosomiasis are the most commonly analyzed infectious diseases where cancer and asthma are the most frequently analyzed non-infectious diseases. Across categories, articles from North America predominate, and in the category of spatial analysis of diseases an equal number of studies concern Asia. CONCLUSION Spatial analysis of diseases and health service planning are well-established research areas. The development of future technologies and new application areas for GIS and data-gathering technologies such as GPS, smartphones, remote sensing etc. will be nudging the research in GIS and health.

Under surveillance, yet looked after: telehomecare as viewed by patients and their spouse/partners

Introduction: In this research project, a group of heart patients were transferred from traditional hospital settings to home hospitalisation across sectors. The project involved patients with heart failure and arrhythmia. Aim: The aim was to understand the experiences and attitudes of patients and their spouses/partners with regard to the application of telehomecare technology as an option within home hospitalisation. Methods: A phenomenological hermeneutic approach was used to collect and interpret the findings and data. A triangulation of data collection techniques was applied using participation observation and qualitative interviews with patients and spouse/partner. Data were analysed from the perspective of the sociology of everyday life. Findings: The impact of home hospitalisation on patients is described according to several themes: security, freedom, increased awareness of own symptoms, being ‘looked after’ but annoyed with their spouse/partner. The patients experience a seamless cross-sector patient care process. The impact on the spouse/partner includes elements of increased responsibility, nervous tension, and invasion of privacy. Conclusion: Patients believe that home hospitalisation speeds up the process of returning to everyday life, both physically and mentally. It is important to be aware of certain anxieties experienced by the patients spouse/partner about home hospitalisation, and these anxieties may also affect the patient.

Development, implementation and diffusion of EHR systems in Denmark

The Danish EHR-Observatory has monitored Danish EHR projects for several years with respect to a number of parameters such as diffusion, diffusion rate, barriers and limitations, and experience gained. The results of the 2002 monitoring reveal that investment in IT is relatively low and the diffusion rate is below the estimated level. The EHR projects gain a lot of valuable experience, but the coordination of evaluation results should be improved.

A dialogue-based web application enhances personalized access to healthcare professionals – an intervention study

BackgroundIn today’s short stay hospital settings the contact time for patients is reduced. However, it seems to be more important for the patients that the healthcare professionals are easy to get in contact with during the whole course of treatment, and to have the opportunity to exchange information, as a basis for obtaining individualized information and support. Therefore, the aim was to explore the ability of a dialogue-based application to contribute to accessibility of the healthcare professionals and exchangeability of information.MethodAn application for online written and asynchronous contacts was developed, implemented in clinical practice, and evaluated. The qualitative effect of the online contact was explored using a Web-based survey comprised of open-ended questions.ResultsPatients valued the online contacts and experienced feelings of partnership in dialogue, in a flexible and calm environment, which supported their ability to be active partners and feelings of freedom and security.ConclusionThe online asynchronous written environment can contribute to accessibility and exchangeability, and add new possibilities for dialogues from which the patients can benefit. The individualized information obtained via online contact empowers the patients. The Internet-based contacts are a way to differentiate and expand the possibilities for contacts outside the few scheduled face-to-face hospital contacts.

Simulation studies for the evaluation of health information technologies: experiences and results

It is essential for new health information technologies (IT) to undergo rigorous evaluations to ensure they are effective and safe for use in real-world situations. However, evaluation of new health IT is challenging, as field studies are often not feasible when the technology being evaluated is not sufficiently mature. Laboratory-based evaluations have also been shown to have insufficient external validity. Simulation studies seem to be a way to bridge this gap. The aim of this study was to evaluate, using a simulation methodology, the impact of a new prototype of an electronic medication management system on the appropriateness of prescriptions and drug-related activities, including laboratory test ordering or medication changes. This article presents the results of a controlled simulation study with 50 simulation runs, including ten doctors and five simulation patients, and discusses experiences and lessons learnt while conducting the study. Although the new electronic medication management system showed tendencies to improve medication safety when compared with the standard system, this tendency was not significant. Altogether, five distinct situations were identified where the new medication management system did help to improve medication safety. This simulation study provided a good compromise between internal validity and external validity. However, several challenges need to be addressed when undertaking simulation evaluations including: preparation of adequate test cases; training of participants before using unfamiliar applications; consideration of time, effort and costs of conducting the simulation; technical maturity of the evaluated system; and allowing adequate preparation of simulation scenarios and simulation setting. Simulation studies are an interesting but time-consuming approach, which can be used to evaluate newly developed health IT systems, particularly those systems that are not yet sufficiently mature to undergo field evaluation studies.

The evaluation of expert diagnostic systems - How to assess outcomes and quality parameters?

Improvement of the quality in health care and the assessment of health outcomes of medical technologies have attracted an increasing attention in the implementation phases. In this paper 10 recent evaluation studies are reviewed to investigate to what extent they reflect the structure, process, and outcome of the conceptual framework. It is found that all the evaluation studies focus on structure measures. But if computer programs to support medical decision making are to be considered in the planning process of the health care system, the evaluation studies must strive to evaluate process and outcomes measures as well. A proposal for a framework for this kind of exploratory and evaluative research is outlined.

Nordic eHealth Indicators: Organisation of research, first results and plan for the future.

eHealth indicator and benchmarking activities are rapidly increasing nationally and internationally. The work is rarely based on a transparent methodology for indicator definition. This article describes first results of testing an indicator methodology for defining eHealth indicators, which was reported at the Medical Informatics Europe conference in 2012. The core elements of the methodology are illustrated, demonstrating validation of each of them in the context of Nordic eHealth Indicator work. Validation proved the importance of conducting each of the steps of the methodology, with several scientific as well as practical outcomes. The article is based on a report to be published by the Nordic Council of Ministers [4].