Usability of information systems: Experiences of outpatient physicians, outpatient nurses, and open care social welfare professionals from three large cross-sectional surveys in Finland

Background: Many European countries are integrating healthcare and social welfare services; some also include joint information systems (ISs) in this process. Despite this, large national survey studies examining and comparing the experiences of the major professional groups regarding the usability of their health (HISs) and client information systems (CISs) are lacking.

Methods: We combined the responses from three national cross-sectional surveys conducted among physicians and nurses in 2017, and social welfare professionals (SWPs) in 2019 in Finland. We selected the responses of 1,826 physicians and 774 nurses working in outpatient clinics in specialized and primary care, and 669 social workers and other SWPs working in open services. The questionnaires were adjusted from a validated instrument. In this study, we analyzed 11 usability-related statements.

Results: The healthcare professionals (HPs) were more critical of the stability and responsiveness of their ISs than the SWPs (27-48% vs 58-65% agreed). The physicians were most dissatisfied with IS support for routine tasks (24-26% agreed). Less than half of all respondents agreed with statements concerning the ease of documentation, arrangement of fields, and terminology. While the HPs were satisfied with IS support for collaboration and information exchange between professionals in the same organization, all professional groups were dissatisfied with cross-organizational support and communication with patients and clients. Almost half of the HPs considered that HISs improve the quality of care, but 80% of the SWPs disagreed that CISs help improve the quality of services.

Conclusions: Overall, the physicians, nurses, and SWPs were dissatisfied with the usability of their HISs and CISs. Based on our findings, ISs should be further developed to support routine tasks, inter- and cross-organizational collaboration, and information exchange. ISs for the integration of care and services should be designed to accommodate various professional groups' different work contexts and needs.