Hospital information systems evaluation criteria: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION: Hospital information systems (HISs) play a vital role in optimizing healthcare delivery, managing clinical data, and supporting decision-making. While numerous frameworks have been developed to evaluate HIS performance, many remain limited in scope and do not fully capture the wide range of needs in modern healthcare environments. This review aimed to identify, categorize, and present a comprehensive set of criteria for evaluating HIS performance. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework and reported in line with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A systematic search was carried out in the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for English-language studies that addressed HIS evaluation criteria. RESULTS: The initial search yielded 561 records, 52 of which met the inclusion criteria. A comprehensive list of evaluation indicators was synthesized and grouped into six main domains: human, technological, informational, organizational, legal, and patient safety. These domains were further divided into 14 categories. To provide further clarity, the indicators were also classified according to Donabedian’s framework of structure, process, and outcome. The majority of studies emphasized structural aspects—such as technological infrastructure and organizational capacity—followed by process-related factors such as user training and system usability, whereas outcome measures were less frequently addressed. Across the domains, “user satisfaction” was the most commonly reported criterion. CONCLUSION: This review provides a structured, multidimensional framework for the comprehensive evaluation of HISs. Moving beyond partial assessments focused solely on technical or usability aspects highlights the importance of incorporating human, organizational, legal, and patient safety perspectives. The proposed framework has practical value for policymakers, hospital administrators, and IT developers and can serve as a foundation for developing standardized and adaptable evaluation tools.