Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study
BackgroundNumerous publications show that electronic medical records (EMRs) may make an important contribution to increasing the quality of care. There are indications that particularly the medical specialist plays an important role in the use of EMRs in hospitals....
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2021-10-01
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| Series: | JMIR Human Factors |
| Online Access: | https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2021/4/e27671 |
| _version_ | 1797735584328843264 |
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| author | Rube van Poelgeest Augustinus Schrijvers Albert Boonstra Kit Roes |
| author_facet | Rube van Poelgeest Augustinus Schrijvers Albert Boonstra Kit Roes |
| author_sort | Rube van Poelgeest |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundNumerous publications show that electronic medical records (EMRs) may make an important contribution to increasing the quality of care. There are indications that particularly the medical specialist plays an important role in the use of EMRs in hospitals.
ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine how, and by which aspects, the relationship between EMR use and the quality of care in hospitals is influenced according to medical specialists.
MethodsTo answer this question, a qualitative study was conducted in the period of August-October 2018. Semistructured interviews of around 90 min were conducted with 11 medical specialists from 11 different Dutch hospitals. For analysis of the answers, we used a previously published taxonomy of factors that can influence the use of EMRs.
ResultsThe professional experience of the participating medical specialists varied between 5 and 27 years. Using the previously published taxonomy, these medical specialists considered technical barriers the most significant for EMR use. The suboptimal change processes surrounding implementation were also perceived as a major barrier. A final major problem is related to the categories “social” (their relationships with the patients and fellow care providers), “psychological” (based on their personal issues, knowledge, and perceptions), and “time” (the time required to select, implement, and learn how to use EMR systems and subsequently enter data into the system). However, the medical specialists also identified potential technical facilitators, particularly in the assured availability of information to all health care professionals involved in the care of a patient. They see promise in using EMRs for medical decision support to improve the quality of care but consider these possibilities currently lacking.
ConclusionsThe 11 medical specialists shared positive experiences with EMR use when comparing it to formerly used paper records. The fact that involved health care professionals can access patient data at any time they need is considered important. However, in practice, potential quality improvement lags as long as decision support cannot be applied because of the lack of a fully coded patient record. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:01:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-308808e00c30470db020030488ab31c4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2292-9495 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:01:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Human Factors |
| spelling | doaj.art-308808e00c30470db020030488ab31c42023-08-28T19:42:15ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Human Factors2292-94952021-10-0184e2767110.2196/27671Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview StudyRube van Poelgeesthttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5613-242XAugustinus Schrijvershttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5480-5926Albert Boonstrahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3565-0623Kit Roeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6775-1963 BackgroundNumerous publications show that electronic medical records (EMRs) may make an important contribution to increasing the quality of care. There are indications that particularly the medical specialist plays an important role in the use of EMRs in hospitals. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine how, and by which aspects, the relationship between EMR use and the quality of care in hospitals is influenced according to medical specialists. MethodsTo answer this question, a qualitative study was conducted in the period of August-October 2018. Semistructured interviews of around 90 min were conducted with 11 medical specialists from 11 different Dutch hospitals. For analysis of the answers, we used a previously published taxonomy of factors that can influence the use of EMRs. ResultsThe professional experience of the participating medical specialists varied between 5 and 27 years. Using the previously published taxonomy, these medical specialists considered technical barriers the most significant for EMR use. The suboptimal change processes surrounding implementation were also perceived as a major barrier. A final major problem is related to the categories “social” (their relationships with the patients and fellow care providers), “psychological” (based on their personal issues, knowledge, and perceptions), and “time” (the time required to select, implement, and learn how to use EMR systems and subsequently enter data into the system). However, the medical specialists also identified potential technical facilitators, particularly in the assured availability of information to all health care professionals involved in the care of a patient. They see promise in using EMRs for medical decision support to improve the quality of care but consider these possibilities currently lacking. ConclusionsThe 11 medical specialists shared positive experiences with EMR use when comparing it to formerly used paper records. The fact that involved health care professionals can access patient data at any time they need is considered important. However, in practice, potential quality improvement lags as long as decision support cannot be applied because of the lack of a fully coded patient record.https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2021/4/e27671 |
| spellingShingle | Rube van Poelgeest Augustinus Schrijvers Albert Boonstra Kit Roes Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study JMIR Human Factors |
| title | Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study |
| title_full | Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study |
| title_fullStr | Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study |
| title_short | Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study |
| title_sort | medical specialists perspectives on the influence of electronic medical record use on the quality of hospital care semistructured interview study |
| url | https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2021/4/e27671 |
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