A physiotherapy EHR specification based on a user-centered approach in the context of public health

Considering that disabilities are increasing, well supported rehabilitation team activities directed towards the population's health are necessary. Physiotherapy rehabilitation activities are well established and some studies report the use of EHR for physiotherapy. However, such EHR are related to hospital and clinic environments, and no EHR for public health physiotherapy services have been reported. Moreover, difficulties occur in developing EHR, due to not enough end-users participating during system development. The aim of this study is to describe a physiotherapy EHR system specification for public health care in Brazil, based on a user-centered approach. This approach is comprised of five phases, including observation of physiotherapists' activities, requirements specification, prototype development, usability tests and object-oriented modeling. As a result of this user-centered approach application, it is possible to reduce development problems, meet users' needs and improve the integration of the development team with end-users.