Toward a framework for data quality in cloud-based health information system

Abstract

This Cloud computing is a promising platform for health information systems in order to reduce costs and improve accessibility. Cloud computing represents a shift away from computing being purchased as a product to be a service delivered over the Internet to customers. Cloud computing paradigm is becoming one of the popular IT infrastructures for facilitating Electronic Health Record (EHR) integration and sharing. EHR is defined as a repository of patient data in digital form. This record is stored and exchanged securely and accessible by different levels of authorized users. Its key purpose is to support the continuity of care, and allow the exchange and integration of medical information for a patient. However, this would not be achieved without ensuring the quality of data populated in the healthcare clouds as the data quality can have a great impact on the overall effectiveness of any system. The assurance of the quality of data used in healthcare systems is a pressing need to help the continuity and quality of care. Identification of data quality dimensions in healthcare clouds is a challenging issue as data quality of cloud-based health information systems arise some issues such as the appropriateness of use, and provenance. Some research proposed frameworks of the data quality dimensions without taking into consideration the nature of cloud-based healthcare systems. In this paper, we proposed an initial framework that fits the data quality attributes. This framework reflects the main elements of the cloud-based healthcare systems and the functionality of EHR.