A Note on End-User Requirements Elicitation for Electronic Medical Records Implementations

Abstract

This paper summarises the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of the implementation of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). The primary purpose of the research is to present a framework for gathering end-user requirements in EMR system implementation. The cross-geographical literature review demonstrates EMR system implementation to be a complicated task to manage. A systematic review of literature sources and approaches for solving the problem indicates that a lack of end-user participation often results in technology rollbacks. The failures to implement electronic medical records are considered to be the reasons for financial losses, followed by the rearrangements of key personnel. The author of the article investigates the role of the main actors involved in the healthcare process. Consequently, as the market adoption of EMRs grows and its impact as a workflow management tool in care facilities increases, focusing on end-user requirements during the implementation phase becomes essential. Investigation of the topic reveals that the opposing points of view, learning investments, and the embedded nature of older technologies deter users from accepting new technology. Methodological research tools involved studying the workflows in a regular outpatient journey. Taking the case of a standard outpatient facility, the paper attempts to present its results through a framework for requirement gathering in the pre-implementation stages. A plan of action for eliciting end-user requirements for the users in a three-stage framework is being proposed. Considering the diverse number of actors in the standard outpatient journey, the three-stage framework breaks down requirements by roles and educational backgrounds and gathers into 1) antecedent or existing conditions; 2) formal and informal communication channels; 3) user and system-generated requirements. This framework relies on synthesising existing frameworks and arranging them in sequential order for real-world implementations based on existing research papers.