Facing the multi facet aspects in design and implementation of the “next generation” Electronic Patient Records

Other contacts

• Gunnar Ellingsen, e-post: email hidden; JavaScript is required, tlf.: 911 65 215
• Bente Christensen, e-post: email hidden; JavaScript is required, tlf.: 948 52 050

Project description

In western health care service, there has been a paradigm shift related to the needs and expectations of ICT systems, and specially related to EPR systems a process- and decision support tool. Consequently, this addresses challenges for vendors’ in the development of ICT tools that can improve and support the standardization of various patient care pathways.

Primarily, the electronic patient record (EPR) has been a tool to document clinical assessments, treatment, and care afterwards. This research project focuses on the development of the next generation electronic patient journal systems based on structured clinical information (in this case openEHR archetypes), which allow reuse of clinical information, and process- and decision support as  the interaction with the patient occurs.

Empirical, the research project follows the FIKS (translated to Joint Implementation of Clinical Systems) program, which is one of the most ambitious ICT projects in Norwegian healthcare. The FIKS program is the organization of implementing new clinical ICT systems for all 11 hospitals in Helse Nord Authority. Initially, over 100 clinicians from different health professions and different geographical locations worked with the vendor to develop new EPR software/functionality. The program has a budget of 650 million NKR.

Purposes/Goals

The project has a qualitative research approach focusing on the development, implementation and use of a structured electronic patient record (EPR), which allow reuse of clinical information, as well as process- and decision support for clinicians, managers and decision makers. By following the empirical process, the project aims to contributes with knowledge about the socio-technical - and organizational measures to enable structured EPR systems.

Financing

The former Tromsø Telemedicine Laboratory which was funded by the Norwegian Research Council, industry and the University of Tromsø. 

More information about the project

A description of the overall project proposal can be found here: http://telemed.no/enabling-new...
Helse Nord Nytt nr. 1-2012 - FIKS: http://www.helse-nord.no/helse...