Health Providers Experiences And Perceptions On The Use Of Electronic Health Record System At The Holy Family Hospital, Nkawkaw

Abstract

Background: It is posited that an electronic health record (EHR) that is well implemented can maximally enhance the workflow of health staff and allow them to improve the quality of care. Since health staff are the largest group of users of health care information technology, they would be greatly impacted by the introduction of an EHR system. Objective: To determine experiences and perceptions of health care providers on the use of electronic health record at the Holy Family Hospital Methods: The study was a facility based cross-sectional design which employed quantitative and qualitative approaches to gather and analyze data. A total number of 114 staff were selected through simple random sampling while 10 staff were purposively selected for the qualitative data. Descriptive test statistics (frequency, percentage) were used to assess experiences (making referrals for further care, prescribing medicine) and perceptions (power supply, constant access to patient records) of health care providers on the use of EHR. Themes with corresponding codes which are consistent with the objectives was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results: Most of the providers at the Holy Family Hospital (51.8%) had favorable experience with the EHR and 65.8% are satisfied with the EHR. Also, 49.1% of the respondents have good perception of her, thus, it improves the overall quality of care offered to patients. Reducing long queues (85.1%), waiting time (70.1%), and misclassification of patients file (60.9%) are factors that informed the implementation of the EHR. One of the participants experience with EHR from the interviews indicated that patient waiting time is reduced. One medical officer was not satisfied the EHR because in cases where the clients are detained, their details will not be on computer for future reference. Another participant explained that reducing long queues and misclassifying patient folders informed the EHR Conclusion: Healthcare providers at Holy Family Hospital have favourable experience and perception on the use of electronic health records. Just as the use of EHR improves productivity, it is recommended for the Ministry of Health to support clinicians to undergo electronic management systems training. This will make the adoption of EHR by clinician easier.