A multimethod approach for quality evaluation of clinical information systems

There was failure to respond to nurses' demands for clinical information system quality that upholds nursing care as clinical information system quality was not measured in a systematic manner. This study identified measures of clinical information system quality by a literature review and used a multimethod approach combining questionnaire, interview, and observation to evaluate the quality of a clinical information system. The study participants were 20 nurses using a clinical information system. Quantitative data were analyzed for tool assessment and item mean values. Qualitative data were transcribed. A set of the criteria was used to integrate quantitative and qualitative data. Results show that the nurses' responses fell into the range of the quality measures included in the tool. Integration of quantitative and qualitative data showed that quality measures facilitated or disrupted nurses' performance on a clinical information system. Nurses' perceptions of and demands for quality in a clinical information system were identified. In conclusion, this study supports a multimethod approach for evaluating the quality of a clinical information system in the complex dynamics of clinical information system implementation. The identified quality dimensions and measures will serve as a foundation to evaluate the quality of a clinical information system. The criteria employed to integrate multiple data were very useful for this study.