The role of simulation in clinical information systems development

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Information Systems Engineering

Background:

• Simulation is a proven method for clinical skills training.
• Simulation is increasingly used for developing and evaluating clinical information systems.
• Simulation effectively assesses human factors and organizational aspects of information systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the role of end-user simulation in Health Informatics.
• To discuss simulation's application throughout the lifecycle of clinical information systems.
• To highlight the importance of simulation fidelity in various contexts.

Main Methods:

• Review of simulation's application in clinical information system development and evaluation.
• Discussion of high-fidelity simulation environments for socio-technical interaction assessment.
• Analysis of simulation fidelity requirements across different stages of the system lifecycle.

Main Results:

• Simulation provides a near real-life experience for evaluating clinical information systems.
• Socio-technical interactions can be effectively evaluated through full-scale simulation tests.
• Simulation is crucial for understanding the impact of information systems on users and organizations.

Conclusions:

• Simulation should play a more significant role in the design and evaluation of clinical information systems.
• End-user involvement in simulation enhances the development of effective health informatics solutions.
• Tailoring simulation fidelity to specific needs optimizes its utility in health informatics.