Maturity of hospital information systems: Most important influencing factors

Big 5 Personality Traits and Individual- and Practice-Related Characteristics as Influencing Factors of Digital Maturity in General Practices: Quantitative Web-Based Survey Study

BACKGROUND

Various studies propose the significance of digital maturity in ensuring effective patient care and enabling improved health outcomes, a successful digital transformation, and optimized service delivery. Although previous research has centered around inpatient health care settings, research on digital maturity in general practices is still in its infancy.

OBJECTIVE

As general practitioners (GPs) are the first point of contact for most patients, we aimed to shed light on the pivotal role of GPs' inherent characteristics, especially their personality, in the digital maturity of general practices.

METHODS

In the first step, we applied a sequential mixed methods approach involving a literature review and expert interviews with GPs to construct the digital maturity scale used in this study. Next, we designed a web-based survey to assess digital maturity on a 5-point Likert-type scale and analyze the relationship with relevant inherent characteristics using ANOVAs and regression analysis.

RESULTS

Our web-based survey with 219 GPs revealed that digital maturity was overall moderate (mean 3.31, SD 0.64) and substantially associated with several characteristics inherent to the GP. We found differences in overall digital maturity based on GPs' gender, the expected future use of digital health solutions, the perceived digital affinity of medical assistants, GPs' level of digital affinity, and GPs' level of extraversion and neuroticism. In a regression model, a higher expected future use, a higher perceived digital affinity of medical assistants, a higher digital affinity of GPs, and lower neuroticism were substantial predictors of overall digital maturity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the impact of GPs' inherent characteristics, especially their personality, on the digital maturity of general practices. By identifying these inherent influencing factors, our findings support targeted approaches to drive digital maturity in general practice settings.

Which one? A suggested approach for evaluating digital health maturity models

Background

Digital health maturity models allow healthcare organizations to evaluate digital health capability and to develop roadmaps for improving patient care through technology. There are many models available commercially for healthcare providers to use to assess their digital health maturity. Currently, there are limited evidence-based methods to assess the quality, utility, and efficacy of maturity models to select the most appropriate model for the given context.

Objective

To develop a framework to assess digital maturity models and facilitate recommendations for digital maturity model selection.

Methods

A systematic, consultative, and iterative process was used. Literature analyses and a stakeholder needs analysis (n = 23) was conducted to develop content and design considerations. These considerations were incorporated into the initial version of the framework developed by researchers in a design workshop. External stakeholder review (n = 20) and improvements strengthened and finalized the framework.

Results

The criteria of the framework include assessment of healthcare context, feasibility, integrity, completeness and actionability. Users can compare model performance in order to select the most appropriate model for their context.

Conclusion

The framework provides healthcare stakeholders with a consistent and objective methodology to compare digital health maturity models, informing approaches to choosing a suitable model. This is a critical step as healthcare evolves towards a digital health system focused on improving the quality of care, reducing costs and improving the provider and consumer experience.

Evaluating Digital Health Capability at Scale Using the Digital Health Indicator

Background  Health service providers must understand their digital health capability if they are to drive digital transformation in a strategic and informed manner. Little is known about the assessment and benchmarking of digital maturity or capability at scale across an entire jurisdiction. The public health care system across the state of Queensland, Australia has an ambitious 10-year digital transformation strategy.

Objective  The aim of this research was to evaluate the digital health capability in Queensland to inform digital health strategy and investment.

Methods  The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Digital Health Indicator (DHI) was used via a cross-sectional survey design to assess four core dimensions of digital health transformation: governance and workforce; interoperability; person-enabled health; and predictive analytics across an entire jurisdiction simultaneously. The DHI questionnaire was completed by each health care system ( n  = 16) within Queensland in February to July 2021. DHI is scored 0 to 400 and dimension score is 0 to 100.

Results  The results reveal a variation in DHI scores reflecting the diverse stages of health care digitization across the state. The average DHI score across sites was 143 (range 78–193; SD35.3) which is similar to other systems in the Oceania region and global public systems but below the global private average. Governance and workforce was on average the highest scoring dimension (x̅= 54), followed by interoperability (x̅ = 46), person-enabled health (x̅ = 36), and predictive analytics (x̅ = 30).

Conclusion  The findings were incorporated into the new digital health strategy for the jurisdiction. As one of the largest single simultaneous assessments of digital health capability globally, the findings and lessons learnt offer insights for policy makers and organizational managers.

Assessing the maturity and performance of the IT function in acute-care hospitals: a configurational view

This study aims to characterises the maturity of IT management in hospitals, to identify the IT management configurations needed to achieve greater performance and to characterise the organisational and strategic IT contexts in which these configurations evolve. Drawing on survey data from 72 Canadian acute-care hospitals with the CIO as the main respondent, we used a configurational approach to assess the maturity of their IT functions. We classified participating hospitals in two distinct groups, each related to different levels of performance. Hospitals in the first group are characterised by a rather "immature" IT management model and presented low levels of IT performance. Hospitals in the second group showed more maturity in their IT management model and high levels of IT performance. Importantly, both the strategic influence of the CIO and the centrality of IT to the hospital's strategic goals were found to be significantly greater in the mature group.

Synthesizing Dimensions of Digital Maturity in Hospitals: Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Digital health in hospital settings is viewed as a panacea for achieving the "quadruple aim" of health care, yet the outcomes have been largely inconclusive. To optimize digital health outcomes, a strategic approach is necessary, requiring digital maturity assessments. However, current approaches to assessing digital maturity have been largely insufficient, with uncertainty surrounding the dimensions to assess.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to identify the current dimensions used to assess the digital maturity of hospitals.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted of peer-reviewed literature (published before December 2020) investigating maturity models used to assess the digital maturity of hospitals. A total of 29 relevant articles were retrieved, representing 27 distinct maturity models. The articles were inductively analyzed, and the maturity model dimensions were extracted and consolidated into a maturity model framework.

RESULTS

The consolidated maturity model framework consisted of 7 dimensions: strategy; information technology capability; interoperability; governance and management; patient-centered care; people, skills, and behavior; and data analytics. These 7 dimensions can be evaluated based on 24 respective indicators.

CONCLUSIONS

The maturity model framework developed for this study can be used to assess digital maturity and identify areas for improvement.

Construction and Clinical Application Effect of General Surgery Patient-Oriented Nursing Information Platform Using Cloud Computing

The paper aims to build a nursing information platform (NIP) for general surgery (GS) patients and explore its clinical application effect based on cloud computing (CC) technology. Specifically, the present work first analyzes and expounds on the characteristics of GS patients, the CC concept, the three-tier service mode of CC, and the cloud data center (CDC). Secondly, based on the principle of the overall system design, the evaluation indexes of medical care end, patient end, family end, and management end are constructed using Visual Studio 2010. Thirdly, the expert evaluation and user evaluation methods are selected to analyze the clinical application effect of the proposed system. Finally, SPSS is used to analyze the effect of the proposed system. The results of the first and second rounds of the expert evaluation show that the authority coefficient of experts is greater than 0.7, which indicates that the degree of expert authority is good. The proposed CC-based GS patient-oriented NIP system is universal. The evaluation results of 20 users have shown 15 doctors and nurses, 14 patients, and 18 family members, who mostly still support applying the proposed CC-based GS patient-oriented NIP system and believe that the system brings convenience and improves work efficiency. In short, more incentives should be taken to build a NIP for GS patients.

Maturity Assessment Methodology for HISMM - Hospital Information System Maturity Model

Maturity models have been adopted in organizations from different sectors of activity, as guides and references for information system (IS) management. In the healthcare field, maturity models have also been used to deal with the enormous complexity and demands of hospital information systems (HIS). This article presents a research project that aimed to develop a new comprehensive model of maturity for a health area. HISMM (hospital information system maturity model) was developed to address the complexity of HIS and intends to offer a useful tool to meet the demands of its management. The HISMM has the peculiarity of combining a set of key maturity influence factors and their respective characteristics, enabling not only the assessment of the global maturity of an HIS but also of the individual maturities of its various dimensions. In this article, we present a methodology for the application and implementation of this model in HIS, thus contributing to its widespread practical application and acceptance.