Electronic Health Record System Risk Assessment: A Case Study from the MINET

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Risk Management
• System Safety Engineering

Background:

• Health information systems are critical for patient care.
• Assessing risks in these systems is essential for maintaining safety and reliability.
• The Maternal and Infant Network (MINET) system manages vital health data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) for risk assessment.
• To identify potential failure modes within the MINET health information system.
• To determine if FMEA is an appropriate risk-assessment methodology for MINET.

Main Methods:

• A case study was conducted at South Western Sydney Area Health Service.
• Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) was employed as the primary risk assessment tool.
• Safety attributes identified by the authors were utilized to guide the FMEA process.

Main Results:

• Potential failure modes of the MINET health information system were systematically identified.
• The application of FMEA provided a structured approach to risk identification.
• The study successfully utilized safety attributes to inform the risk assessment.

Conclusions:

• Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) is a suitable and appropriate method for the risk assessment of the MINET health information system.
• The findings support the broader application of FMEA in evaluating health information systems.
• Risk assessment using FMEA contributes to enhancing the safety and reliability of healthcare IT infrastructure.