The Adoption of the Electronic Health Record by Physicians

Abstract

Background Health information technology, especially the electronic health record (EHR) systems, improves health care quality and patient safety. Objectives This study's objectives are as follows: first, to explore the adoption of EHR systems among physicians in Saudi Arabia (with King Fahd Military Medical Complex as the location of the pilot study), and second, to identify the factors that influence these physicians' adoption of such systems. Methods This cross-sectional quantitative study is based on a paper survey that was administered to a sample of 213 physicians. The theoretical model is a version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that features the following additional variables: resistance to change, training, and social influence. Results The sample includes 133 (62%) physicians who used EHRs and 80 (38%) who did not. The main findings show that users and nonusers of the EHR system differ significantly for several factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, and resistance to change. In addition, age, work experience, and medical specialty are significantly associated with physicians' use of the EHR system. Conclusion To increase EHR systems' adoption rate, the following elements should be improved: the systems' design, the social environments, and the physicians' awareness of the systems' benefits. This is the first study to produce a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the factors that influences physicians' use of the EHR system at a Saudi hospital in the Eastern Province. Further studies are needed to measure how these factors influence physicians' use of EHRs in other settings.

Effects of Electronic Health Record Implementation and Barriers to Adoption and Use: A Scoping Review and Qualitative Analysis of the Content

“…Complaints concerning poor interoperability and integration between systems were found; these issues hindered both the implementation [48,61,93,98] and the adoption/use of EHRs and PHRs [44,47,51,56,134]. Clinicians' resistance [86,93,123,140] and lack of trust in EHRs/PHRs [66,92,98,114] regarding issues related to data privacy and the risk of data loss, which were key challenges to fully exploiting EHRs [43], were suggested. This was highlighted in a study which showed that the survey respondents (clinicians and staff) perceived a lack of trust in the reliability of EHRs and a lack of belief in their value for patient care to be barriers to EHR implementation (mean score 3.47 out of 5 and 4.46 out of 5) [58].…”

Electronic-health in Saudi Arabia: A review

“…Based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendations, many countries have endeavored to implement e-health in their healthcare systems to improve healthcare deliveries (Al-Rayes et al, 2019). The impacts of e-health have been found with mixed results in different countries where e-health has been implemented.…”

“…The results revealed that users and non-users of the EHR system vary substantially on many factors such as perceived utility, perceived ease of use, social impact, and resistance to change. In addition, age, work experience, and medical specialties are strongly linked to the use of the EHR system by physicians (Al-Rayes et al, 2019). Concerning health care consumers, Alsahafi et al (2020) conducted a study to assess e-health literacy.…”

Beyond Electronic Health Record Adoption

“…Using the theoretical Technology Acceptance Model, they found that to increase the EHR systems' adoption rate, the design, social influence, and perception of the system's benefits need to be improved. 1 The authors' efforts should be commended in their systematic approach to improve EHR adoption for their institution and throughout their region.…”

“…Some of the known challenges stem from issues that Al-Rayes et al faced in their present study. 1 In addition, interoperability, usability, technical limitations, and patient acceptance also impact the facilitation of EHR adoption. 12 Identifying these barriers early on may assist in successful implementation by allowing healthcare systems to anticipate and avoid these common barriers.…”