How to teach health IT evaluation:Recommendations for health IT evaluation courses

Systematic health IT evaluation studies are needed to ensure system quality and safety and to provide the basis for evidence-based health informatics. Well-trained health informatics specialists are required to guarantee that health IT evaluation studies are conducted in accordance with robust standards. Also, policy makers and managers need to appreciate how good evidence is obtained by scientific process and used as an essential justification for policy decisions. In a consensus-based approach with over 80 experts in health IT evaluation, recommendations for the structure, scope and content of health IT evaluation courses on the master or postgraduate level have been developed, supported by a structured analysis of available courses and of available literature. The recommendations comprise 15 mandatory topics and 15 optional topics for a health IT evaluation course.