Quality of healthcare related software applications--setting up an accreditation system in Hungary.
Meeting expectations of high quality health care, the safe and secure operation of medical information systems is a "must". However for healthcare software nationwide quality control systems are not widely used. A quality control project of health care applications in Hungary has been launched in 1996 by the Hungarian Society of Healthcare Informatics (MEIT) and Medico-Biological Section of Johann Neumann Society of Computing (NJSZT) by establishing a joint Healthcare Informatics Applications Accreditation Board (Board ESAB). The Board developed an evaluation methodology and a legal procedure to test health care software application modules. The evaluation method is based on international standards as ISO-9126 and on emerging European standards of CEN/TC 251. First rounds of accreditation already proved that there is a need among providers and users for the accreditation process. The authors hope that establishing an accreditation system will lead to a more balanced health care software market where users have an opportunity to inform themselves by the opinion of independent experts on the product they intend to purchase.
Lakner
G
G
Department of Medical Informatics, Haynal Imre University of Health Sciences, Budapest, Hungary.
Balkányi
L
L
Surján
G
G
Kovács
J
J
D000068:Accreditation; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D008491:Medical Informatics Applications; D008492:Medical Informatics Computing; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012984:Software