Abstract:Although the electronic health record (EHR) is a promising innovation in the healthcare industry, the implementation of EHR has been relatively slow. A theoretical structure for the exploration and improvement of this usage of EHR is proposed. Incorporating the theoretical structure of TOE (technology-organization-environment), we apply the DEMATEL (decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) technique to illustrate the influence-matrix and to construct the INRM (influential network relationship map). Based on this DEMATEL influence matrix and the fundamental concepts of ANP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), we derive influential weights for the criteria. These influential weights are then combined with the modified VIKOR (VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) method to find ways to understand and enhance the usage of EHR technology. The outcome demonstrates that our model can not only be used for implementation of EHR technology, but can also be applied to analyze the gaps in performance between the aspiration level and present performance values in individual criterion/dimension.

In today's rapidly changing economy, technology companies have to make decisions on research and development (R&D) projects investment on a routine bases with such decisions having a direct impact on that company's profitability, sustainability and future growth. Companies seeking profitable opportunities for investment and project selection must consider many factors such as resource limitations and differences in assessment, with consideration of both qualitative and quantitative criteria. Often, differences in perception by the various stakeholders hinder the attainment of a consensus of opinion and coordination efforts. Thus, in this study, a hybrid model is developed for the consideration of the complex criteria taking into account the different opinions of the various stakeholders who often come from different departments within the company and have different opinions about which direction to take. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach is used to convert the cause and effect relations representing the criteria into a visual network structure. A consistent fuzzy preference relations based analytic network process (CFPR-ANP) method is developed to calculate the preference-weights of the criteria based on the derived network structure. The CFPR-ANP is an improvement over the original analytic network process (ANP) method in that it reduces the problem of inconsistency as well as the number of pairwise comparisons. The combined complex proportional assessment (COPRAS-G) method is applied with fuzzy grey relations to resolve conflicts arising from differences in information and opinions provided by the different stakeholders about the selection of the most suitable R&D projects. This novel combination approach is then used to assist an international brand-name company to prioritize projects and make project decisions that will maximize returns and ensure sustainability for the company.