Factors associated with the utilization of electronic medical records in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study examined the factors associated with the use of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in public hospitals in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Three hundred and ninety-six (396) healthcare professionals were surveyed from the various public hospitals in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The participants included physicians, physician assistants, nurses, laboratory technicians, radiologists, pharmacists, record managers, and ICT staff. Frequency and Chi-Square analyses were performed on the data. The results showed that approximately 59% (n = 212) of health professionals indicated low use of EMR services in their hospitals. Lack of computer competence (p < 0.001), poor communication between users (p = 0.050), cost of EMR resources and facilities (p < 0.001), lack of technical personnel to install and operate EMR technology resources (p < 0.001), and lack of EMR software packages (p < 0.001) had significant negative relationships with EMR utilization. Utilization of EMR services is low among the healthcare professionals in the Eastern Region. Therefore, the Ghana Health Service needs to provide training to their employees and supply the needed resources to encourage and support the hospitals and healthcare workers to increase the utilization of the EMR services that improve healthcare delivery in the Region. To enhance EMR utilization, it will be essential that government supports health facilities who have challenges using EMR. To better understand the issues, a mixed method approach is recommended to be used to study healthcare workers from both private and public healthcare facilities in the Eastern Region of Ghana.