SMARAGD

The SMARAGD project is concerned with human-machine interactions in hospitals. Hospital staff uses hospital information systems (HIS) to document and retrieve patient health data for treatments. In a feasibility study a system for occupational and physical therapists is developed that facilitates the search for information in HIS by means of smart data aggregation and visualisation. Work organisation and working conditions of occupational and physical therapists should be improved by such a system.

In hospitals, health data of patients are documented in hospital information systems (HIS) and considered for future treatment decisions. The use of electronic HIS is intended to improve the quality of treatments and to enable hospital staff to access necessary data quickly. However, HIS often contain an overabundance of information that is scattered in various files and specific information can only be found through extensive search. Hospital staff often has little time to gather this information to get an overview of the patient's health status for treatment decisions. A system that makes relevant information available at a glance and visualizes it intuitively is not yet available. Therefore, the SMARAGD project will investigate how a system by means of smart aggregation and visualisation of health data can facilitate HIS use for occupational and physical therapists.

An interdisciplinary team consisting of occupational psychologists, sociologists, health scientists, computer scientists and lawyers investigates the feasibility of a system for smart data aggregation and visualisation. A mixed-methods approach including observations, focus groups and an online survey examines the requirements such a system needs to address. The technical feasibility of smart aggregation of health data is examined and user-friendly visualisations are developed. Finally, group discussions clarify how the introduction of the system would influence the work organisation and the quality of working conditions of occupational and physical therapists.

Further information may be found at the project homepage under www.smaragdprojekt.at .

Duration: 06/2019 – 11/2021

Funding: Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)

Project management at the University of Graz: Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Bettina Kubicek

Research assistant at the University of Graz: MMag. Cordula Kupfer

Cooperation partners: IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems (overall project management), SYNYO GmbH, Johannes Kepler University of Linz, Medical University of Graz, Know-Center GmbH, University of Vienna