Harkness Project Title: 

Measuring the Impact of Health Information System Projects: Towards an Evaluation Framework

Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Doreen Neville, a 2002–03 Canadian Associate of the Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellows Program, is an associate professor of health policy and health care delivery in the Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Building on her recent experience as the founding chief executive officer of the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information, she has commenced a program of research focused on measuring the impact of health information system development on health care costs and outcomes. Her other current research centers on: identification of processes to define the range of publicly insured health services in Canada; governance models for health care organizations; and sustainability of community health promotion initiatives. Neville is the Newfoundland principal investigator for the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation/Canadian Institutes of Health Research–funded Atlantic Regional Training Centre for Health Services Research, which is establishing joint M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs in health services research at the University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Regionalization Research Centre, and a member of the provincial Health Council on Wellness and the provincial Health System Planning Committee for Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Project: Neville reviewed current approaches to evaluating health information projects in Canada, and developed a framework for future evaluations of these initiatives building on the identified best practices.  He interviewed key personnel involved with electronic health information system initiatives (e.g., from government, health care providers, and academia), and conducted a literature review on best practices for evaluating such initiatives.

Career Activity Since Fellowship

• Associate Vice President (Academic), Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2006
• Chair, e-Health Research Unit, Memorial University, Faculty of Medicine, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 2005
• Adjunct Professor, School of Health Services Administration, Dalhousie University, 2003

E-Mail: dneville@mun.ca

Harkness-Related Publications

MacDonald D, Neville D. (2009).  “Evaluating the Implementation of Picture Archiving and Communication Systems in Newfoundland and Labrador – A Cost Benefit Evaluation).” Journal of Digital Imaging. Published online August 26, 2009.

Caison A, Neville  D, Farrell, G. An Urban Electronic Medical Record Implementation: An Evaluation of a Pilot Project in St. John’s, NL, Phase One Report. August 10th, 2007

Neville D,  Keough M,  Barron M, MacDonald D, Gates G, Tucker S, Cotton S, Farrell G, Hoekman T, Bornstein S, O’Reilly S.  (2004). Towards an Evaluation Framework for Electronic Health Records Initiatives: An Inventory of Electronic Health Records Initiatives Across Canada. (www.nlchi.nl.ca/research_evaluations.asp)

Neville D,  Gates G, MacDonald D, Barron M, Tucker  S, Cotton S, Farrell G, Hoekman T, Bornstein S, O’Reilly.(2004) . Towards an Evaluation Framework for Electronic Health Records Initiatives:  A Proposal For an Evaluation Framework. (www.nlchi.nl.ca/research_evaluations.asp)

Neville D,  Gates K, Tucker S, Keough M, MacDonald D, Barron M, Cotton S, Farrell G, Hoekman T, Bornstein S, O’Reilly S.(2004) . Towards an Evaluation Framework for Electronic Health Records Initiatives:  An Annotated Bibliography and Systematic Assessment of the Published Literature and Program Reports. (www.nlchi.nl.ca/research_evaluations.asp)