What are the most effective methods for evaluating HIT performance?

1 Goals and Frameworks

Before you can evaluate the performance of your HIT systems, you need to define your goals and expectations, and select a suitable framework to guide your evaluation process. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), and aligned with your organizational vision, mission, and values. Your framework should provide a clear and comprehensive structure for identifying, organizing, and prioritizing the key aspects and dimensions of your HIT performance, such as functionality, usability, reliability, interoperability, security, efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, and impact. Some examples of popular frameworks for evaluating HIT performance are the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model (D&M ISM), and the Donabedian Model of Quality.

3 Criteria and Metrics

After you have gathered and processed your data, you need to apply criteria and metrics to evaluate and interpret your HIT performance in a meaningful and actionable way. Your criteria and metrics should be objective, transparent, relevant, and adaptable to your HIT system and its context, purpose, and scope. They should also reflect the multiple dimensions and perspectives of your HIT performance, such as technical, functional, clinical, organizational, financial, and social. Some examples of criteria and metrics for evaluating HIT performance are usability scores, adoption rates, error rates, downtime rates, data quality scores, compliance rates, productivity measures, cost-benefit ratios, return on investment (ROI), clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, and stakeholder feedback.

4 Reporting and Communication

Once you have evaluated and interpreted your HIT performance, you need to report and communicate your findings and recommendations to your relevant audiences and stakeholders, such as managers, staff, clinicians, patients, vendors, regulators, and funders. Your reporting and communication should be clear, concise, accurate, timely, and tailored to your audience's needs, preferences, and expectations. They should also highlight your HIT performance strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), and provide evidence-based suggestions for improvement, enhancement, or innovation. Some examples of reporting and communication tools for evaluating HIT performance are charts, graphs, tables, summaries, narratives, presentations, posters, newsletters, and webinars.

5 Feedback and Improvement

After you have reported and communicated your HIT performance, you need to solicit and incorporate feedback and improvement from your audience and stakeholders, and monitor and evaluate the impact of your actions and interventions on your HIT performance. Your feedback and improvement should be constructive, collaborative, and continuous, and based on your evaluation findings, recommendations, and best practices. They should also address the root causes and underlying factors of your HIT performance issues, challenges, or gaps, and foster a culture of learning, innovation, and quality improvement. Some examples of feedback and improvement methods for evaluating HIT performance are surveys, interviews, focus groups, audits, logs, reports, dashboards, indicators, scorecards, and analytics.

Evaluating HIT performance is a complex and dynamic process that requires careful planning, execution, and follow-up. By using the methods described in this article, you can assess and improve your HIT performance in a systematic and effective way, and enhance your healthcare delivery, quality, and value.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?