Metaparadigm: a soft and situation oriented MIS design approach

Every-day routine work performed by medical staff can be enormous, thus continuing education, diagnostic assistance, medical research or literature searches remains only an aspiration for them. The appearance of the computer-based information technology has initiated the possibility to significantly ease these routine activities and enable the medical staff to devote more time to enhanced creative work. However, only when medical staff can use computers reliably, effectively, democratically, easily, and in natural, intuitive fashion, medical information system (MIS) will be used enthusiastically and favourably. In that manner special attention must be dedicated to MIS design. The aim of our paper is to introduce the new (M)IS design approach called metaparadigm and show its applicability to MIS design. A metaparadigm is a holistic, participative and systemic approach, incorporating design activities needed to construct both the (M)IS design paradigm and the selected (M)IS. It is our deepest belief that metaparadigms employment can enhance many IS design weaknesses and result in the successful medical information systems design and use.