Thesis subject

Solving interoperability issues in health information systems: A case study in the care for people with an intellectual disability.

Level: BSc or MSc

Research area/discipline: Software Engineering and Healthcare

Prerequisites: Applied information technology INF-20806 (Optional) , MSc: Engineering and Management of Information Systems INF-31306 (Optional)

Short description:

In the Netherlands, around 0.85% of the population has an intellectual disability (ID) according to the classical definition of having an IQ below 70. People with an ID often live in long-term care facilities and represent a large share of the health care use in the Netherlands. Care around people with an ID is complex and involves many caregivers. These caregivers all use some health information systems (HIS) to, for example, register their activities and to ensure reimbursement of care provided. There are many interoperability issues with these HISs. These issues cause a lot of problems with the exchange of information both within care facilities and outside. In this research you are going to identify these interoperability problems for the care of people with ID. Afterwards, you will look at solutions that have been suggested in regular care and how they can be applied in care for people with ID. You will also use a case study to examine how stakeholders perceive these solutions.

Tasks:

  • Interview stakeholders to identify interoperability issues

  • Find solutions to the problems found.
  • Select the best solutions and test them in practice.

    Required skills/knowledge (optional):

    • Enthusiastic about healthcare
    • Willing to learn about health information systems

    Relevant literature:

    • Iroju, O., Soriyan, A., Gambo, I., & Olaleke, J. (2013). Interoperability in healthcare: benefits, challenges and resolutions. International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, 3(1), 262-270.

    For more information:

    For making an appointment to discuss the thesis topic, please send an email to: HJM (Joep) Tummers | Promovendus | Information Technology group (INF) | Wageningen University & Research (WUR) | joep.tummers@wur.nl