Strong and Meaningful Use of Healthcare Information Systems (HIS)

The translation of science to practice to policy for meaningful use of healthcare information system (HIS) is embedded in a complex milieu of meaningful, meaningless, non- and mis-use of the system by a variety of stakeholders seeking to manage the cost, quality, safety, and parity of healthcare. The problem of HIS use can be modeled as an ontology which encapsulates the core logic of use. The ontology includes the three components of translation, the four types of use, the key stakeholders, and the four basic outcomes. It is a comprehensive structured natural-language model which can be extended and refined. It is parsimonious and can be easily understood and interpreted by all the stakeholders. We argue that such a model is necessary to develop a roadmap for strengthening the meaningful use of HIS. In its absence meaningful use of HIS will be weak