Identifying System Information Requirements: The First Step in Designing a Registration System for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Arthritis Rheumatoid is a progressive Chronic disease requiring constant care, and it is important to consult a physician for change in treatment, to see the progress of treatment, and to control the side effects of the drug. One of the information systems used to record information of diseases is the registry or registry system of the disease, which is a database that contains specific information about those who are suffering from a specific illness. Also it is an ideal tool for clinical study. The first step to design a registry is to identify the information needs of the system. In this study, 40 randomly selected rheumatologists were entered. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire including general information, clinical involvement, clinical information, laboratory, imaging, hospitalization and death information; its validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability was estimated by test-retest. After reviewing the average scores, the importance of general information, clinical involvement, clinical information, laboratory, radiology, hospitalization and death information were obtained: 92.9%, 84.8%, 86.2%, 81.2%, 97.04%, 87.2% and 81.2%, respectively. Based on the goals that registries follow, they record different data. Identification of information needs through the involvement of physicians as the experts of this field affects the effectiveness and efficiency of the system. The result of this study is the identification of information needs for designing a registration system for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. This information is presented in seven categories.