Implementation of Electronic Health Record as a Clinical Information Tool to Improve Gastric Cancer Care

Abstract

Aim: According to the high prevalence of gastric cancer in Iran, this study aimed to develop a gastric cancer electronic health record (EHR) to improve outpatient gastric cancer care.

Method: This study represented the stepwise process used to develop a web-based gastric cancer EHR to overcome the documentation problems and cancer care complications. These iterative phases included determining the required minimum data sets (MDS), designing, developing and implementation, and usability evaluation. The system functional and non-functional requirements were determined using needs assessment. The MDSs were identified through consensus by a multidisciplinary expert panel. Finally, the web-based system was implemented in PHP language.

Results: Initially, the required datasets were verified by experts. Later, an EHR-based gastric cancer system was implemented successfully to support outpatient cancer care. Based on the analysis, the functional requirements and main modules of the system were specified. The designed system reached an acceptable level of usability and performance.

Conclusion: The system was successfully implemented in the gastric cancer clinic. Implementation of an electronic health record system can not only provide ease of access to clinical information, but also improve the quality of complicated cancer care.