Information and Communication Technology Requirements for Iran’s Holistic Scientific Map on Health: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background and Aim: Medical universities need to fulfill many requirements to achieve the goals of the Holistic Scientific Map on Health development based on Iran’s 20-year vision plan. This study aimed to determine information and communication technology requirements for the Holistic Scientific map on health from the perspectives of the administrators of medical universities. Methods: This qualitative study was done in 2017 using the Delphi method and the nominal group technique. Sampling was done purposively and heterogeneously to recruit 20 junior, middle, and senior university managers. The MAXQDA software (v. 10.0) was used for qualitative data management and the SPSS software (v. 16.0) for quantitative data analysis. Results: Medical universities need to fulfill 20 information and communication technology requirements to achieve the goals of the Holistic Scientific Map on Health. The most important requirements are “creating electronic health record” (score: 691), “increasing internet bandwidth and speed” (score: 668), “establishing a customer relationship management system” (score: 667), “developing telehealth system” (score: 623), and “establishing a disease record system” (score: 586). Conclusions: Creating an electronic health record is the most important requirement for reaching the goals of the Holistic Scientific Map on Health. However, there are different barriers and problems in fulfilling this requirement.