The Integrated Electronic Health System in Iranian health centers: benefits and challenges

Abstract

Background Electronic Health Records (EHRs) were introduced to all Iranian medical universities in 2015 with the launch of Integrated Electronic Health System (which is known as SIB: a Persian backronym in Persian meaning apple), and a number of studies were conducted on SIB. However, most of these studies did not consider the benefits and challenges of adopting SIB in Iran. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the benefits and challenges of SIB in health centers of Khuzestan Province, Iran. Methods This was a qualitative study using qualitative conventional content analysis conducted on 6 experts and 24 users of SIB in six health centers of three cities in Khuzestan province, Iran. The participants were selected using a purposeful sampling method. Maximum variation was considered in selecting the group of users, and snowball sampling was used in the group of experts. Data collection tool was semi-structured interview. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis. Results Overall, 42 components (24 for benefits and 18 for challenges) were extracted from the interviews. Common sub-themes and themes were identified for challenges and benefits. The components formed 12 sub-themes, and they were placed in 3 main themes, namely structure, process and outcome. 1) Structure included four sub-themes of Financial resources, Human resources, Facilities, and Access to the Internet; 2) Process involved three sub-themes of Training, Providing services, and Time and workload; and 3) Outcome incorporated five sub-themes of Quality of health services, Access, Safety and personal distance, Screening and evaluation, and Research. Conclusions In the present study, the benefits and challenges of adopting SIB were examined in three themes: structure, process, and outcome. Most of the identified benefits were related to the theme of outcome, and most of the identified challenges were related to the theme of structure. Based on the identified factors, by strengthening the benefits of SIB and also trying to eliminate or reduce its challenges, it is possible to institutionalize and use it more effectively in order to solve health problems.

Challenges to Electronic Health Record Implementation Grouped According to Level of National Development and Stage of Implementation Scoping Review.

“…A study in Serbia [5], Canada [6], the Netherlands [7], and Irania [20] concluded that the rst impression of a new EHR system determines the success of the implantation process. The implementation of a new information system always requires proper change management.…”

“…In the United States and China, studies have shown that there are challenges in the use of health data in arti cial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and in some cases, there are legal battles. Studies in Nepal, the United States, Iran and Saudi Arabia noted that security concerns can be avoided by providing robust security measures, although doing so is very costly, leading to another problem [6,18,[20][21][22][23].…”

Risk factors associated with underweight in children aged one to two years: a longitudinal study

“…Data collection was done through the Integrated Health System (SIB). SIB is a national electronic health record system in Iran which continuously and electronically records include various health indicators and clinical information[ 8 ], ensuring comprehensive and reliable data for our study.…”

Factors inhibiting readiness to implement Electronic Medical Records (RME) in management information systems in hospitals: Literature review

“…The costs involved in the process of changing from a manual system to a digital system are also a factor in hampering an organization's readiness to implement electronic medical records. According to Sasan Ghorbani Kalkhajeh et al (2023). The costs of changing a paper system to an electronic system and the use of the internet network during working hours, as well as the limited human resources in managing hospital organizations will have an impact on hampering the implementation of RME.…”