Quality management issues for medical ICT

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) assist healthcare professionals in the process of diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, medication prescription, referral, information retrieval and communication, documentation and transactions. This applies to intramural, transmural and extramural conditions. About 67% of patients involved in safety incidents believe that the incidents could have been prevented had an electronic health record been available. However, preliminary research also suggests that about 30% of patient safety incidents relate to software problems. ICT might improve quality of healthcare provided that ICT products, the ICT administration and use comply to essential requirements. This paper presents information about the state of the art of software quality, the measuring of software quality, quality management systems and a evaluation and certification method.