Computer-based assistance in family medicine

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Information Systems
• General Practice Technology

Background:

• General practitioners (GPs) require integrated systems for daily practice, research, and decision support.
• Existing systems may lack comprehensive functionality for administrative, medical, and research tasks.
• The Phased Development Methodology (PDM) offers a structured approach to developing complex healthcare information systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and features of the General Practitioner (GP) Information and Research System (HIOS).
• To present the extended Decision Support System (HIOS+) and its functionalities for assisting GPs.
• To introduce and explain the Phased Development Methodology (PDM) used in system development.

Main Methods:

• Development of HIOS using the Phased Development Methodology (PDM).
• Implementation of HIOS in a general practice and a health centre.
• Extension of HIOS to create HIOS+ with decision support modules.
• Evaluation of HIOS and HIOS+ modules through user studies with GPs.

Main Results:

• HIOS comprises administrative, medical, and research modules, positively evaluated in practice.
• HIOS+ integrates passive and active decision support, including textbook information, advice, warnings, model creation, reporting, and educational capabilities.
• Evaluation studies of HIOS+ modules by GPs yielded positive results.

Conclusions:

• The integrated HIOS and HIOS+ systems effectively support GPs in daily practice, research, and decision-making.
• The Phased Development Methodology (PDM) is a viable approach for developing such comprehensive healthcare information systems.
• Positive evaluations indicate the utility and acceptance of these systems among general practitioners.