Evaluation of laboratory information system in Akdeniz University Hospital

ABSTRACTLaboratory Information System (LIS) in Akdeniz University is implanted to improvethe quality of healthcare service in the hospital. The aim of this study is to evaluate thephysician usage patterns and satisfaction with Akdeniz University LIS, to examine the factorseffecting user satisfaction, and possible problems.The questionnaire which is prepared for this study was answered by 136 physicians.The mean age of physicians was 29,09 ± 3,13, they had a mean of five years ofprofessional experience. Thirty-six percent of them were using computers less than one hour,50% were using 1-3 hours, 7,4% were using 4-6 hours, and 6,6% was using more than sixhours in a day. The ratio of the physicians who defining themselves as advanced computeruser was 4,4%. The ratios for ?good?, ?moderate? and novice users were 14,7%, 50,7%, and29,4% respectively. 0,7% of them admitted that they have no computer experience. Part of thequestionnaire was prepared to evaluate the physicians? opinions about the potential effects ofthe computers. According to their answers, 91,9% of them believes that the computers havepositive effect on physician?s access to up-to-date information, 87,5% believes that thecomputers have positive effect on healthcare quality and according to 83,1% of them thecomputers decreases the cost of healthcare. We have observed correlation between scores ofpotential effectiveness of computers and duration of daily computer usage (r=0.193, p<0.05),age (r=0.224, p<0,001), and professional experience (r=0.195, p<0,05). The ratio of thephysicians who ?frequently? and ?always? use LIS for examining test results, obtaining testresult printout and following the fate of late test results were 91,2%, 81,6%, 80,2%respectively. The most important problems were defined as insufficient number of computers,computer break-downs, low speed of computers and insufficient user education. The meansatisfaction score of the users were 2,71 over 4. This finding suggests that the users aregenerally satisfied by the system. However scores of ?ease of use? and ?content? arerelatively low. There is correlation between satisfaction score and computer proficiency(r=0,173, p<0,05), total computer usage score (r=0,216, p<0,05) and frequency of LIS usage(r=0,408, p<0,001).In conclusion, the general user opinion about LIS is positive, but there are somecomplaints about the system. In our opinion, there are needs for inservice education of users,and improving the technical aspect of the system.Key words: Clinical Laboratory Information Systems, Computer Systems, EvaluationStudies, Attitude to Computers, Computer Literacy