Nursing Information Systems Requirements: A Milestone for Patient Outcome and Patient Safety Improvement

Considering the integral role of understanding users' requirements in information system success, this research aimed to determine functional requirements of nursing information systems through a national survey. Delphi technique method was applied to conduct this study through three phases: focus group method modified Delphi technique and classic Delphi technique. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the proposed requirements within 15 general hospitals in Iran. Forty-three of 76 approved requirements were clinical, and 33 were administrative ones. Nurses' mean agreements for clinical requirements were higher than those of administrative requirements; minimum and maximum means of clinical requirements were 3.3 and 3.88, respectively. Minimum and maximum means of administrative requirements were 3.1 and 3.47, respectively. Research findings indicated that those information system requirements that support nurses in doing tasks including direct care, medicine prescription, patient treatment management, and patient safety have been the target of special attention. As nurses' requirements deal directly with patient outcome and patient safety, nursing information systems requirements should not only address automation but also nurses' tasks and work processes based on work analysis.