Outcome measures in clinical information systems evaluation

Systems developed through informatics methods can be evaluated at different levels, depending on the purpose of the evaluation. A key class of measures useful in relating information systems to the quality of patient care is benefit or outcome measures, which reflect differences in the health or welfare of the patient that result from the system being utilized. A framework for describing evaluation measures is presented, definitions are discussed, and the results of a literature review are presented to indicate outcome measures used in medical informatics over several decades. The conclusion suggests that more attention should be given to the standardization of terminology and to outcome measures and methods.