eHealth Observatory

Models

Infoway BE Framework

Infoway Benefits Evaluation Framework diagram

Infoway Benefits Evaluation Framework

(Adapted from: DeLone WH and McLean ER. The DeLone and McLean model of information systems success: A ten-year update. Journal of Management Information Systems 2003;19(4):9-30.)

In 2007, Canada Health Infoway published a Benefits Evaluation (BE) Framework for health information systems (HIS) that are being deployed in Canada through its jurisdictional partners and investment programs. This BE Framework is based on the Information Systems Success Model by DeLone and MacLean that was first published in 1992, then revised in 2002 after extensive theoretical and field validation by others.

The Infoway BE Framework has three broad conceptual dimensions of HIS quality, use and net benefits. The quality dimension covers the technology aspects of the system, information and service. The use dimension covers system usage and user satisfaction. The net benefits dimension covers care quality, patient access and provider productivity. While this BE Framework excludes organizational and contextual factors, it is well received by the HIS community for its simple yet coherent view, and has been adopted as a pan-Canadian framework for HIS benefits evaluation. A set of metrics has also been developed as part of this framework for use by the jurisdictions in HIS evaluation studies across the country.