A structural model for quality requirements regarding Electronic Health Records - State of the art and first concepts

Objective. Quality assurance is a major task with regard to the implementation of electronic health records (EHR). Currently there are only a few approaches explicitly dealing with the quality of EHR services. The objective of this paper is to introduce a new model-based approach to structure and describe quality requirements of EHRs. Methods. The approach was developed in the context of a project that aimed at the support of transnational quality certification of EHR services. It is based on an extensive literature analysis and expert interviews. Results. The approach comprises a service and requirements model. The service model represents the structure of a service whereas the requirements model can be used to assign specific predefined aims and requirements to a service. Discussion. The new model differs from existing approaches as it accounts for modern software architectures and the special attributes of EHRs. First tests of the model were conducted but further tests are indicated to fully proof it.