Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in Dubai
Introduction: Dubai city made a significant leap forward, which aligns with the vision of leadership, in the region’s eHealth services by adopting a unified electronic medical record system across the country. Electronic medical records provide a better, more efficient standard of care and a vital d...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-08-01
|
| Series: | Information |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/11/9/415 |
| _version_ | 1827707384871518208 |
|---|---|
| author | Fatima Mohamed AlMarzooqi Immanuel Azaad Moonesar Raeda AlQutob |
| author_facet | Fatima Mohamed AlMarzooqi Immanuel Azaad Moonesar Raeda AlQutob |
| author_sort | Fatima Mohamed AlMarzooqi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Dubai city made a significant leap forward, which aligns with the vision of leadership, in the region’s eHealth services by adopting a unified electronic medical record system across the country. Electronic medical records provide a better, more efficient standard of care and a vital database that will streamline the administrative process and promote better outcomes with less utilization of resources. Medical records form an essential part in patient management and include a variety of patient data information that might be sensitive. Therefore, the primary challenge is to maintain data privacy of the electronic medical records. Objective: Current studies to measure the user and health provider perceptions of electronic medical records data privacy are limited in the region. We aimed to investigate the perceptions of healthcare professionals and healthcare users toward electronic medical records and data privacy in eHealthcare facilities in Dubai. Methods: In this quantitative descriptive study, we explored the perceptions towards electronic medical records and data privacy using an online survey as a data collection tool. The dependent variables were the user and provider perceptions, while the independent variables included gender, nationality, income and age. A random sample of 201 eHealthcare facilities professionals and users was included. Results: The findings of the study revealed that most healthcare professionals and users agreed on the presence of good eHealth data protection practices and privacy principles in Dubai. There was a statistical correlation between the surveyed privacy practice perceptions and gender, nationality and income. However, age had no statistically significant association. Conclusions: These research findings can influence policymakers and stakeholders when developing electronic medical records and data privacy policies and guidelines across the United Arab Emirates’ healthcare facilities, in particular, during the implementation of unified electronic medical records. Future research could investigate the effect of the specific demographic variables on the perception of privacy among eHealthcare facility users that might influence electronic medical records and data privacy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:44:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b53e0b1a8a844d68be9f44638296c67 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2078-2489 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:44:58Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Information |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b53e0b1a8a844d68be9f44638296c672023-11-20T11:40:47ZengMDPI AGInformation2078-24892020-08-0111941510.3390/info11090415Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in DubaiFatima Mohamed AlMarzooqi0Immanuel Azaad Moonesar1Raeda AlQutob2Primary Healthcare Sector, Dubai Health Authority, Dubai P.O. 4545, UAEHealth Administration and Policy, Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Dubai P.O. 72229, UAEPublic Health, School of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman 11942, JordanIntroduction: Dubai city made a significant leap forward, which aligns with the vision of leadership, in the region’s eHealth services by adopting a unified electronic medical record system across the country. Electronic medical records provide a better, more efficient standard of care and a vital database that will streamline the administrative process and promote better outcomes with less utilization of resources. Medical records form an essential part in patient management and include a variety of patient data information that might be sensitive. Therefore, the primary challenge is to maintain data privacy of the electronic medical records. Objective: Current studies to measure the user and health provider perceptions of electronic medical records data privacy are limited in the region. We aimed to investigate the perceptions of healthcare professionals and healthcare users toward electronic medical records and data privacy in eHealthcare facilities in Dubai. Methods: In this quantitative descriptive study, we explored the perceptions towards electronic medical records and data privacy using an online survey as a data collection tool. The dependent variables were the user and provider perceptions, while the independent variables included gender, nationality, income and age. A random sample of 201 eHealthcare facilities professionals and users was included. Results: The findings of the study revealed that most healthcare professionals and users agreed on the presence of good eHealth data protection practices and privacy principles in Dubai. There was a statistical correlation between the surveyed privacy practice perceptions and gender, nationality and income. However, age had no statistically significant association. Conclusions: These research findings can influence policymakers and stakeholders when developing electronic medical records and data privacy policies and guidelines across the United Arab Emirates’ healthcare facilities, in particular, during the implementation of unified electronic medical records. Future research could investigate the effect of the specific demographic variables on the perception of privacy among eHealthcare facility users that might influence electronic medical records and data privacy.https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/11/9/415eHealthDubaiprivacy lawselectronic medical recordshealth policyhealthcare professionals |
| spellingShingle | Fatima Mohamed AlMarzooqi Immanuel Azaad Moonesar Raeda AlQutob Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in Dubai Information eHealth Dubai privacy laws electronic medical records health policy healthcare professionals |
| title | Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in Dubai |
| title_full | Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in Dubai |
| title_fullStr | Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in Dubai |
| title_full_unstemmed | Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in Dubai |
| title_short | Healthcare Professional and User Perceptions of eHealth Data and Record Privacy in Dubai |
| title_sort | healthcare professional and user perceptions of ehealth data and record privacy in dubai |
| topic | eHealth Dubai privacy laws electronic medical records health policy healthcare professionals |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/11/9/415 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fatimamohamedalmarzooqi healthcareprofessionalanduserperceptionsofehealthdataandrecordprivacyindubai AT immanuelazaadmoonesar healthcareprofessionalanduserperceptionsofehealthdataandrecordprivacyindubai AT raedaalqutob healthcareprofessionalanduserperceptionsofehealthdataandrecordprivacyindubai |