Patient demands and the development of EHR systems

Patient demands to the development and implementation of electronic health care records (EHR) are rarely considered in professional health informatics societies. This project has investigated the citizens' opinion in Denmark by means of a newly developed methodology "development space". A group of citizens form a lay panel and are briefed on the fundamental issues in the development and strategies for EHR. They confront an expert panel with a number of questions and on the basis of the answers they write a report. The results show that the citizens in the lay panel demanded clear answers to strategic, technical and attitudinal questions. They demonstrated an ability to see through relatively complex relations and formulate multifaceted opinions, which can add valuable input to the development and implementation process of EHR in the professional environments.