Date of Award
12-15-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Science in Nursing (MScN)
First Supervisor/Advisor
Dr. Laila Ladak
Department
Medical College Pakistan
Abstract
Background: A medical error is one of the most preventable errors that occur frequently in hospitals, leading to millions of deaths yearly. Medical errors cost hospitals billions of dollars worldwide. Human error is also a common cause of medication errors, but this error is due to the failure of the system to detect errors. The electronic health record (EHR) is a complete set of computerized records of all information related to patient health that is used by one or more users in any care setting. This information includes demographic data of patients, patients’ progress notes, complaints and diagnoses, medications, vital signs history and records, past medical and immunization history, labs, and radiology data. Healthcare systems in Pakistan need proper and timely attention by utilizing technology. Technology can bring a positive change in the healthcare setup of Pakistan. For the time being, the most important factor that has been ignored by the government is the unavailability of technology in healthcare readiness. AKUH is planning to implement EHRs in 2024, which was an opportunity for us to assess the organizational readiness towards EHRs at AKUH before implantation.
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess organizational readiness towards EHRs and to identify enabling factors and barriers towards their implementation.
Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study design was used for this study to respond to the research questions of the study. A universal sampling technique was used to recruit 4,146 population for the study through an online survey from a private tertiary care hospital. The targeted response rate was to recruit 60% of the sample size from the total population. Univariate and Multiple regression was run to find the association between the dependent and independent variables.
Result: A total of 3,358 participants responded to the online survey, including both faculties and staff, responded to the study questionnaire through their workplace email addresses, which were kept confidential by the hospital's human resource department. Thus, the response rate to the study was 81.4%. In this study, the overall readiness level for EHR adoption was 73.4% [95% CI: 95.5% and 51.3%]. Computer literacy, computer access at health facilities at home and work, awareness about EHRs, perceived benefit, and negative impact of EHRs were significantly associated with overall healthcare providers' readiness for EHR adoption using a p-value less than 0.05 as a cut point.
Conclusion: The study discovered significant factors in healthcare providers' readiness for EHR deployment. The healthcare providers who were less than 35 years and greater than 26, those with more than six years and less than ten years of work experience, those who were familiar with EHRs, and those with higher computer literacy were more prepared. These findings offer useful insights into the characteristics of providers who are more likely to accept EHRs, underlining the importance of addressing concerns and adjusting policies to ensure effective EHR adoption.
Recommended Citation
Javeed, M. (2023). Assessment of organizational readiness towards electronic health records in a tertiary care hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, a quantitative analytical cross-sectional study (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.