Department of Health Information Management, School of Allied Health Science, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Allied Health Science, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2024 Sep 16;24(1):254. doi: 10.1186/s12911-024-02672-3.
Electronic Health Record systems (EHRs) offer significant benefits and have transformed healthcare in developed countries. However, their implementation and adoption in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains low due to challenges and competing interests. Health professionals' perception of EHRs can influence their adoption and continued use. The objectives of this study are to explore the perception of health professionals regarding implemented EHR systems in three hospitals in Ghana and identify factors influencing their perception and satisfaction.
In this study, we employed a concurrent mixed method design to collect data from study participants from May to June 2023. The quantitative part employed a descriptive-survey and the qualitative (in-depth interview) techniques was applied. After obtaining written informed consent from each respondent, a structured survey questionnaire was filled out by the health professionals from three hospitals. An a priori power calculation was used to determine the sample size for the quantitative component. Two hundred and sixty-three (263) health professionals completed the questionnaire from the three facilities. A purposive sampling technique was used to select fifteen [1] participants for the interviews. A semi-structured interview guide was used for the in-depth interviews. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded into themes using QSR Nvivo 12 software before thematic content analysis.
Our findings revealed that 213 (80.99%) health professionals perceived the EHRs as beneficial to patients and were generally satisfied. An overwhelming majority, 197 (74.90%) of the health professionals, were satisfied with its use and expressed interest in continuing to use the system. The majority of health professionals viewed the EHRs to have improved their work and workflow processes and provided the desired results. However, few other health professionals were dissatisfied with the system because they viewed the EHRs as frustrating due to unstable internet connectivity and power supply. Other concerns were related to the privacy and confidentiality of patient information. They believe access to patient information should be on a need-to-know basis, and patient information should not be accessible to all other clinicians except those involved directly in their care processes.
The study revealed that health professionals have a positive perception of the implemented EHRs, are highly satisfied with them, and are interested in continuing to use them. However, health professionals' concerns about the unstable power supply, poor internet connectivity, security, and confidentiality of patient's information need attention, to mitigate their frustrations and boost their confidence in the system.
电子健康记录系统（EHRs）在发达国家带来了显著的益处，并改变了医疗保健方式。然而，由于挑战和利益冲突，它们在中低收入国家（LMICs）的实施和采用仍然很低。卫生专业人员对 EHRs 的看法会影响他们的采用和持续使用。本研究的目的是探讨加纳三家医院卫生专业人员对已实施的 EHR 系统的看法，并确定影响他们看法和满意度的因素。
在这项研究中，我们采用了同时进行的混合方法设计，从 2023 年 5 月至 6 月从研究参与者那里收集数据。定量部分采用描述性调查，定性（深入访谈）技术。在每位受访者书面同意后，从三家医院的卫生专业人员填写了一份结构化的调查问卷。使用事先的功效计算来确定定量部分的样本量。263 名卫生专业人员完成了来自三家医疗机构的问卷。采用目的抽样技术从 15 名参与者中选择了[1]名进行访谈。使用半结构化访谈指南进行深入访谈。访谈内容被录音、转录，并使用 QSR Nvivo 12 软件编码为主题，然后进行主题内容分析。
我们的研究结果表明，213 名（80.99%）卫生专业人员认为 EHRs 对患者有益，并普遍感到满意。绝大多数，197（74.90%）卫生专业人员对其使用感到满意，并表示有兴趣继续使用该系统。大多数卫生专业人员认为 EHRs 改善了他们的工作和工作流程，并提供了预期的结果。然而，也有少数卫生专业人员对系统不满意，因为他们认为 EHRs 由于不稳定的网络连接和电源供应而令人沮丧。其他问题与患者信息的隐私和保密性有关。他们认为，只有需要了解患者信息的人才可以访问患者信息，并且患者信息不应被所有其他临床医生访问，除非他们直接参与患者的护理过程。
该研究表明，卫生专业人员对已实施的 EHRs 有积极的看法，对其高度满意，并有兴趣继续使用。然而，卫生专业人员对电力供应不稳定、网络连接差、安全性和患者信息保密性的担忧需要引起关注，以减轻他们的挫败感并增强他们对系统的信心。
