Information requisition is the core of guideline-based medical care: which information is needed for whom?

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES It is mandatory for the design of an efficient software product to know the different groups of users of a software tool, the tasks the users want to perform with it, and the information that is required for it. Our goal is to establish a comprehensive information source for the development of a consistent software environment supporting all tasks emerging from the creation to the execution of a computerized clinical practice guideline (CPG) for different user groups. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive literature review to investigate the different user groups of a computerized CPG as well as their specific information needs. RESULTS We provide a complete catalogue of every single aspect that may be related to information needs of any party concerned. In particular, we give detailed information on the tasks of guideline modellers on the one hand, and clinical information needs (i.e. information needs of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners and patients) on the other hand. CONCLUSION By providing categorized information from several studies and publications, we establish an exhaustive information basis for the design of a useful software tool facilitating the formalization and the execution of a CPG.