Open or Closed: A Project Proposal for Investigating Two Different EHR Platform Approaches

Technical platforms form the fundament on which IT systems and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are implemented. The use of either open or proprietary standards and technologies for information modelling and interoperability have implications for how clinical and health data is handled and made available for the system users. In Norway, two different EHRs are procured in different health regions of the Specialist healthcare service. The two platforms are characterized as one being open platform-based and the other being closed platform-based. The study aims to identify and describe consequences and implications related to two different platform approaches for EHRs from an end-user perspective. The study will employ three methods of data capturing; scoping study, interviews, and questionnaires. Data will be systematically analyzed through proven methods. Interviews and questionnaire data will be gathered from European hospitals having implemented EHRs in recent years. Results will be compared to the Norwegian context. The technical platform used for health IT systems in general, and the EHR specifically, can have substantial consequences for clinicians and organization of work. Closed platform-based EHRs still constitutes the majority of the market, but open platform approaches are rapidly gaining popularity. An assessment of the consequences related to different platform designs can shed light on the implications the chosen technical approach will have on clinical and organizational practice.