Assessing Risk Awareness with Hospital Information Systems

Abstract

Hospital information systems continue to transform healthcare practices at a disruptive rate. However, such transformational changes within healthcare practices also introduce new technical risks. Therefore, all stakeholders within a healthcare setting must be aware of the potential risks hospital information systems pose to patient care safety and quality. This paper adopts a focus group study and Delphi method approach to examine (i) the range of risks identified by thirty-two experts from different Portuguese hospitals and (ii) the level of awareness across healthcare practitioners. The contribution of the research is threefold. First, we present a literature summary on risks associated with hospital information systems. Second, we present findings on a typology of twenty-three risks and evaluate the perception of healthcare professionals on their potential impacts. Third, we discuss strategies to improve risk awareness with hospital information systems within the hospital environment, with broader implications for other healthcare settings, considering the different perspectives of healthcare workers.