Prioritization the Attributes of Cloud Computing in the Electronic Health Record Implementation in crisis situations

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) plays an important role in improving quality care for patients, especially in times of crisis and meeting needs and expectations. The use of cloud computing features in the implementation of electronic health records facilitates faster access to this goal. The present study aimed to prioritize the features of cloud computing in implementing electronic health records in crisis situations.

This applied-analytical study was conducted in 2019. The sample size of the study was 45 people who were selected by purposeful sampling from experts in health information management, medical informatics and health information technology from All Iran's universities of Medical Sciences. Data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire containing the attributes of cloud computing. Content validity coefficient was 0.80 and content validity index was 0.90. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated and confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.85. In this study, based on the hierarchical analysis method and the hierarchical structure in it, the criteria were first compared and prioritized, and then in each criterion, the sub-criteria were compared and prioritized. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and hierarchical analysis by SPSS 21.0 and Expert Choice 11 software.

Out of 45 questionnaires distributed among experts, 40 were answered with 88.88%. Of the nine criteria and 30 sub-criteria examined, security and confidentiality weighed 0.30, followed by error reduction and quality improvement of 0.15, among other major criteria for cloud computing features in executing an electronic health record as the most important feature. Were recognized. The least significant of them were cost and ability to search and extract information with weights of 0.045 and 0.048, respectively.

In this study, the features of cloud computing in Iran are prioritized and evaluated, the most important of which is confidentiality and security. Therefore, in cases where it is not possible to select all of these features, the most appropriate and efficient feature is selected in different situations.