A Validation of an IT Investment Evaluation Model in Health and Social Care : A case study of ERAS Interactive Audit System (EIAS)

Sammanfattning: Introduction: The traditional IT investment evaluation methods and/or techniques tend to measure the quantitative value added by eHealth. However, there are contributions brought by innovation which are intangible and sundry, and thus are difficult to identify, measure and manage. A model presented by Vimarlund & Koch (2011) aims for identifying the benefits that IT investments bring to health and social care organizations. It could be used as a tool that identifies and classifies the effects and indicators of IT innovation in-vestments at different organizational levels for different stakeholders. Purpose and research questions: This is an evaluative study with the purpose to validate Vimarlund & Koch’s (2011) evaluation model through practical application. A care study of EIAS (ERAS Interactive Audit System) is conducted. ERAS stands for Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, which is an innovative process aims to enhance patient’s outcome after ma-jor surgery. EIAS is a system that supports the ERAS process. The aim is to achieve a deep understanding of IT investment evaluation. The model will be used in a real case as a guide to evaluate and identify impact that derives from the use and implementation of IT applica-tions. The process of evaluation could also be seen as a process of validation of the model in terms of comprehensiveness, practicality and applicability. Through this study, we aim to find out: 1) What are the possible contributions that EIAS brings to Jönköping County Council? 2) How is the performance of Vimarlund & Koch’s (2011) evaluation model in practical application, in terms of comprehensiveness, practicality and applicability? Method: The purpose of this study is evaluative and it is conducted by using adductive ap-proach. Single case study will be adopted as the research strategy. In this study, qualitative data will be collected through semi-structured interview with key respondents. The data collected will be analyzed qualitatively with a narrative approach. Conclusion: Guided by Vimarlund & Koch’s (2011) evaluation model, the innovations that have been brought into healthcare organizations by EARS are electronic information supply, internal integration of clinical information and possibilities to learn from the system. The model has been validated in terms of comprehensiveness, practicality and applicability. The evaluation model is a generic model to demonstrate the contribution of IT to innovation and change in health care. It could be used in both formative and summative assessment and as well as goal-free and goal-based evaluation. The issue of the productivity paradox has been noticed as some effects are not immediate after introducing of IT. User-participation or not could be considered as an important condition for the validity of the evaluation guided by the evaluation model.