Answer for NURS 8210 Week 11: Evaluating Health Information Technology Systems Evaluation Process

Answer for NURS 8210 Week 11: Evaluating Health Information Technology Systems

Evaluation Process

Health information technology (HIT) evaluation presents a framework for the assessment of designs, aims, procedures and data analysis skills of technologies used in healthcare. The most common approach used for HIT evaluation is the socio-technical approach which evaluates social practices within the organization as opposed to the technology itself. HIT evaluation therefore differs from other health evaluations as it targets other health systems to gain insights on its own. The American Nurses Association (2008) provides means by which an informatic nurse evaluates progress, which is to “conduct a systematic, ongoing, and criterion-based evaluation of the outcomes in relation to the structures and processes prescribed by the project plan and indicated timeline (p. 78)”.

Evaluation Strategies

Strategies involved in HIT evaluation are defined by three dimensions which include domain, mechanism and timing. Evaluation of the HIT interventions or outcomes of the interventions are defined by the domain dimension (Nguyen, Bellucci & Nguyen, 2014). Specific components of the system to be evaluated are determined by the mechanism while the timing dimension considers if the evaluation takes place before or after the implementation of the HIT systems. Based on the chosen dimensions thereafter study questions, data collection methods and analysis procedures become clear.

Factors Considered

HIT evaluation takes into account four major factors which include technology, social, human and timing. Technology is evaluated based on device function and performance through the analysis of software, hardware and functionality states. HIT addresses user needs and therefore the human factor is purposeful for summative evaluations in ensuring safety and effectiveness of the technology in serving users (Jones, Rudin, Perry & Shekelle, 2014). The social factor addresses the impact of HIT systems on organizations. The timing factor takes into account evolution of technology designs, developments and implementation over time.

Challenges

HIT evaluation is based on major factors that determine its complexity. They include evaluation scope, evaluation timing, and units of analysis and levels of analysis. Because the evaluation involves in depth analysis of various elements in the organization such as management, finance, and products and services, it is time consuming (Ammenwerth, Gräber, Herrmann, Bürkle & König, 2003). The various units analyzed also pertain to various areas of expertise increasing the complexity of the evaluation. The main challenges are therefore on the complexity of the evaluation based on time, scope and expertise.

References

American Nurses Association. (2008). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice.

Silver Spring, MD: Author.

Ammenwerth, E., Gräber, S., Herrmann, G., Bürkle, T., & König, J. (2003). Evaluation of health

information systems—problems and challenges. International journal of medical

            informatics, 71(2-3), 125-135.

Jones, S. S., Rudin, R. S., Perry, T., & Shekelle, P. G. (2014). Health information technology: an

updated systematic review with a focus on meaningful use. Annals of internal

            medicine, 160(1), 48-54.