PHASE 1
Information Needs Analysis
Information Needs Analysis
Prior to work on the EPoCare software, a needs assessment was conducted for 275 general internists, 275 family physicians and 120 medical house staff. Participants were asked what they would like in a medical evidence software package-which evidence resources would they like to see used in the software, and how did they want information formatted on the screen? Computer familiarity was also surveyed-another important step in assessing the requirements in the visual design of the software.
In conclusion, participants want their information delivered to them quickly, efficiently, legibly and clearly. They demanded results of their information searches presented in brief (i.e. bullet-point) format; they wanted to work through few layers to find information, and only when they received that primary information did they want the option to go into further detail.
The consensus was that the EPoCare software package should include a drug information database in addition to the core search function for medical evidence resources. For that reason e-Script was included in Phase 4 of the EPoCare project.