"Why the hell do we need electronic health records?". EHR acceptance among physicians in private practice in Austria: a qualitative study

Investigating allied health professionals' attitudes, perceptions and acceptance of an electronic medical record using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology

Objective This study aimed to investigate allied health professionals' (AHPs') perspectives pre- and post-implementation of an electronic medical record (EMR) in a tertiary health service in Australia and examine factors influencing user acceptance. Methods Data were collected pre- and post-EMR implementation via cross-sectional online surveys based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (UTAUT). All AHPs at a large tertiary hospital were invited to complete the surveys. Data analysis included descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U tests for pre-post item- and construct-level comparison and content analysis of free-text responses. The theoretical model was empirically tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results AHPs had positive attitudes toward EMR use both pre- and post-implementation. Compared to pre-implementation, AHPs felt more positive post-implementation about system ease of use and demonstrated decreased anxiety and apprehension regarding EMR use. AHPs felt they had adequate resources and knowledge to use EMR and reported real-time data accessibility as a main advantage. Disadvantages of EMR included an unfriendly user interface, system outages and decreased efficiency. Conclusions As AHPs increase EMR system familiarity, their positivity towards its use increases. An understanding of what influences AHPs when implementing new compulsory technology can inform change management strategies to improve adoption.

Insights into the use of telemedicine in primary care in times of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic - a cross-sectional analysis based on the international PRICOV-19 study in Austria

BACKGROUND

The SARS-CoV2 pandemic as well as the implementation of public health measures to decrease the spread of the virus re-sparked the call for "virtual" health or "distance" treatments. This paper aimed to assess the use of video consultations, the up-to-dateness of practice websites, and the views of GPs on whether eHealth is a positive aspect for the future of their practices in publicly -funded primary healthcare facilities in Austria.

METHODS

The cross-sectional online questionnaire, part of the PRICOV-19 study, was conducted from December 2020 until July 2021. We randomly recruited 176 GP practices across Austria. Descriptive statistics as well as binary logistic regression models were applied to examine the associations between telemedicine use and practice factors.

RESULTS

Compared with before the pandemic (3.8%), 7.6% of publicly funded GP practices have been using video consultations since the pandemic. In line with this, 93.9% of the practices had no increase in video consultation use. Fewer than half (44.3%) had an up-to-date webpage, and 27.8% assumed that the pandemic might have been a positive driver for eHealth in their practices. Positive associations with video consultation use could be found in practices with fewer patients aged 70 years and over than the average and more patients with chronic diseases than the average.

CONCLUSION

The use of video consultations in general practice and the readiness for other telemedicine approaches are both very low in Austria. Austria has to urgently follow the example of countries with a transparent and comprehensive national digital health strategy that includes video consultation. Without a proper payment system, patient inclusion, and support with regard to administrative and organizational aspects, no substantial change will occur in spite of an increase in need due to the pandemic and changes in the patient population.

Precision medicine and the problem of structural injustice

Many countries currently invest in technologies and data infrastructures to foster precision medicine (PM), which is hoped to better tailor disease treatment and prevention to individual patients. But who can expect to benefit from PM? The answer depends not only on scientific developments but also on the willingness to address the problem of structural injustice. One important step is to confront the problem of underrepresentation of certain populations in PM cohorts via improved research inclusivity. Yet, we argue that the perspective needs to be broadened because the (in)equitable effects of PM are also strongly contingent on wider structural factors and prioritization of healthcare strategies and resources. When (and before) implementing PM, it is crucial to attend to how the organisation of healthcare systems influences who will benefit, as well as whether PM may present challenges for a solidaristic sharing of costs and risks. We discuss these issues through a comparative lens of healthcare models and PM-initiatives in the United States, Austria, and Denmark. The analysis draws attention to how PM hinges on-and simultaneously affects-access to healthcare services, public trust in data handling, and prioritization of healthcare resources. Finally, we provide suggestions for how to mitigate foreseeable negative effects.

Benefits, challenges, and contributors to success for national eHealth systems implementation: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

Our scoping review aims to assess what legal, ethical, and socio-technical factors contribute to or inhibit the success of national eHealth system implementations. In addition, our review seeks to describe the characteristics and benefits of eHealth systems.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a scoping review of literature published in English between January 2000 and 2020 using a keyword search on 5 databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, IEEEXplore, and ProQuest. After removal of duplicates, abstract screening, and full-text filtering, 86 articles were included from 8276 search results.

RESULTS

We identified 17 stakeholder groups, 6 eHealth Systems areas, and 15 types of legal regimes and standards. In-depth textual analysis revealed challenges mainly in implementation, followed by ethico-legal and data-related aspects. Key factors influencing success include promoting trust of the system, ensuring wider acceptance among users, reconciling the system with legal requirements, and ensuring an adaptable technical platform.

DISCUSSION

Results revealed support for decentralized implementations because they carry less implementation and engagement challenges than centralized ones. Simultaneously, due to decentralized systems' interoperability issues, federated implementations (with a set of national standards) might be preferable.

CONCLUSION

This study identifies the primary socio-technical, legal, and ethical factors that challenge and contribute to the success of eHealth system implementations. This study also describes the complexities and characteristics of existing eHealth implementation programs, and suggests guidance for resolving the identified challenges.

Attitudes towards using electronic health records of patients with psoriasis and dermatologists: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Electronic health records (EHRs) offer various advantages for healthcare delivery, especially for chronic and complex diseases such as psoriasis. However, both patients' and physicians' acceptability is required for EHRs to unfold their full potential. Therefore, this study compares patients' and physicians' attitudes towards using EHRs in routine psoriasis care.

METHODS

For the purpose of this study, a questionnaire was developed based on literature research and analyses of previously conducted focus groups. Participants completed either a paper-based or an electronic version of the questionnaire. Patient recruitment took place at an dermatological outpatient clinic and via several online pathways (patient associations, and social media). Physicians were recruited via a mailing list of a dermatological association and at a dermatological conference. Patients' and physicians' responses were compared using χ2 tests and Fisher's exact tests.

RESULTS

The study consisted of 187 patients and 44 dermatologists. Patients compared to physicians rated almost all potential EHR uses as significantly more important and expected significantly more potential benefits from EHRs.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients showed positive expectations towards using EHRs, whereas there was more scepticism in the physician sample. This aligns with previous findings. These differences illustrate the necessity to involve all stakeholders, especially patients and physicians, into the process of developing and implementing EHRs.

Nurses' Compliance With Bar-code Medication Administration Technology: Results of Direct Observation of Jordanian Nurses' Practice

Medication administration using bar-code medication administration technology enhances the verification of medication administration rights. Nurses' compliance with bar-code medication administration procedure is essential to maximize the benefits. This study evaluated the current rate of nurses' compliance with bar-code medication administration use through direct observation. A descriptive design was used and 134 RNs were recruited from two public hospitals located in the middle region of Jordan. Compliance with bar-code medication administration was evaluated using an evidence-based checklist of 17 items. Participants' compliance with the bar-code medication administration was 55%, which had a significant positive correlation with their level of comfort using bar-code medication administration, usefulness, and ease of use, perceived job productivity, and overall rating of bar-code medication administration. Stakeholders can benefit from assessing end-user acceptance and perceptions regarding the bar-code medication administration technology to promote acceptance and compliance.

Current status and nurses' perceptions of the electronic tabular nursing records in Henan, China

AIMS

To survey the types of Electronic Nursing Records used and to explore nurses' perceptions in the hospitals in Henan Province, China.

BACKGROUND

There are few studies about status of electronic nursing documents from nurses' view.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study of 3,586 nurses using a web-based questionnaire was conducted.

RESULTS

Approximately 98% of the nurses were college graduates or had higher degrees, with 46% of the nurses managed more than nine beds per nurse each day. About 27% spent more than two hours daily writing records with a further 38% spending between 1 and 2 hr. However, only 52% realized professional nursing records should be archived and fewer than 80% knew the importance and significance of preserving fundamental nursing records.

CONCLUSION

Although nurses' educational level in Henan is high, the younger age of them (i.e., less experience) and heavy workload may lead to inferior quality of ENR. Nurses' awareness of the importance and legal significance of documents needs improvement.

IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Our results may provide detailed evidence of the time consuming as well as nurses' knowledge of, abilities in, and opinions about record-keeping in developed countries and bring potential clinical implications for the nursing managers worldwide.

A Systematic Review of the Technology Acceptance Model in Health Informatics

BACKGROUND

One common model utilized to understand clinical staff and patients' technology adoption is the technology acceptance model (TAM).

OBJECTIVE

This article reviews published research on TAM use in health information systems development and implementation with regard to application areas and model extensions after its initial introduction.

METHOD

An electronic literature search supplemented by citation searching was conducted on February 2017 of the Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus databases, yielding a total of 492 references. Upon eliminating duplicates and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 134 articles were retained. These articles were appraised and divided into three categories according to research topic: studies using the original TAM, studies using an extended TAM, and acceptance model comparisons including the TAM.

RESULTS

The review identified three main information and communication technology (ICT) application areas for the TAM in health services: telemedicine, electronic health records, and mobile applications. The original TAM was found to have been extended to fit dynamic health service environments by integration of components from theoretical frameworks such as the theory of planned behavior and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, as well as by adding variables in specific contextual settings. These variables frequently reflected the concepts subjective norm and self-efficacy, but also compatibility, experience, training, anxiety, habit, and facilitators were considered.

CONCLUSION

Telemedicine applications were between 1999 and 2017, the ICT application area most frequently studied using the TAM, implying that acceptance of this technology was a major challenge when exploiting ICT to develop health service organizations during this period. A majority of the reviewed articles reported extensions of the original TAM, suggesting that no optimal TAM version for use in health services has been established. Although the review results indicate a continuous progress, there are still areas that can be expanded and improved to increase the predictive performance of the TAM.

Developing a theoretical model and questionnaire survey instrument to measure the success of electronic health records in residential aged care

Electronic health records (EHR) are introduced into healthcare organizations worldwide to improve patient safety, healthcare quality and efficiency. A rigorous evaluation of this technology is important to reduce potential negative effects on patient and staff, to provide decision makers with accurate information for system improvement and to ensure return on investment. Therefore, this study develops a theoretical model and questionnaire survey instrument to assess the success of organizational EHR in routine use from the viewpoint of nursing staff in residential aged care homes. The proposed research model incorporates six variables in the reformulated DeLone and McLean information systems success model: system quality, information quality, service quality, use, user satisfaction and net benefits. Two variables training and self-efficacy were also incorporated into the model. A questionnaire survey instrument was designed to measure the eight variables in the model. After a pilot test, the measurement scale was used to collect data from 243 nursing staff members in 10 residential aged care homes belonging to three management groups in Australia. Partial least squares path modeling was conducted to validate the model. The validated EHR systems success model predicts the impact of the four antecedent variables—training, self-efficacy, system quality and information quality—on the net benefits, the indicator of EHR systems success, through the intermittent variables use and user satisfaction. A 24-item measurement scale was developed to quantitatively evaluate the performance of an EHR system. The parsimonious EHR systems success model and the measurement scale can be used to benchmark EHR systems success across organizations and units and over time.

Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of electronic health records among nurses: Application of Technology Acceptance Model

BACKGROUND

Electronic health records (EHRs) are increasingly being implemented in healthcare organizations but little attention has been paid to the degree to which nurses as end-users will accept these systems and subsequently use them.

OBJECTIVES

To explore nurses' perceptions of usefulness and ease-of-use of EHRs. The relationship between these constructs was examined, and its predictors were studied.

METHOD

A national exploratory study was conducted with 1539 nurses from 15 randomly selected hospitals, representative of different regions and healthcare sectors in Jordan. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which was based on the Technology Acceptance Model. Correlations and linear multiple regression were utilized to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Jordanian nurses demonstrated a positive perception of the usefulness and ease-of-use of EHRs, and subsequently accepted the technology. Significant positive correlations were found between these two constructs. The variables that predict usefulness were the gender, professional rank, EHR experience, and computer skills of the nurses. The perceived ease-of-use was affected by nursing and EHR experience, and computers skills.

CONCLUSION

This study adds to the growing body of knowledge on issues related to the acceptance of technology in the health informatics field, focusing on nurses' acceptance of EHRs.

User acceptance factors of hospital information systems and related technologies: Systematic review

This study reviews the literature on the most important acceptance factors associated with Hospital Information Systems (HIS) and related technologies based on user groups' perspectives (medical staff, hospital management, administrative personnel, patient, medical student, and IT staff), which can assist researchers and hospital management to develop suitable acceptance models to improve the quality of HIS. We conducted searches in online databases with large repositories of academic studies, written in English and fully accessible by the authors. The articles being reviewed are related to health information technology (HIT), clinical information systems (CIS), HIS, electronic medical records (EMR), telemedicine or telehealth, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS), radio frequency identification (RFID), and computerized physician order entry (CPOE), where the use of most of those applications and technologies is highly integrated. A predefined string was used to extract 1,005 articles, and the results were reviewed and checked. The results of this study found 15 user acceptance factors related to HIS and related technologies that were frequently identified by a minimum of five previous studies. These factors were related to individual, technological, and organizational factors. In addition, HIS and related technologies' user acceptance factors in each user group describe different results.

Learning to use electronic health records: can we stay patient-centered? A pre-post intervention study with family medicine residents

Background

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is now widely used in clinical encounters. Because its use can negatively impact the physician-patient relationship, several recommendations on the “patient-centered” use of the EHR have been published. However, the impact of training to improve EHR use during clinical encounters is not well known. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of training on residents’ EHR-related communication skills and explore whether they varied according to the content of the consultation.

Methods

We conducted a pre-post intervention study at the Primary Care Division of the Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland. Residents were invited to attend a 3-month training course that included 2 large group sessions and 2–4 individualized coaching sessions based on videotaped encounters. Outcomes were: 1) residents’ perceptions regarding the use of EHR, measured through a self-administered questionnaire and 2) objective use of the EHR during the first 10 min of patient encounters. Changes in practice were measured pre and post intervention using the Roter interaction analysis system (RIAS) and EHR specific items.

Results

Seventeen out of 27 residents took part in the study. Participants used EHR in about 30% of consultations. After training, they were less likely to consider EHR to be a barrier to the physician-patient relationship, and felt more comfortable using the EHR. After training, participants increased the use of signposting when using the EHR (pre: 0.77, SD 1.69; post: 1.80, SD3.35; p 0.035) and decreased EHR use when psychosocial issues appeared (pre: 24.5% and post: 9.76%, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

This study suggests that training can improve residents’ EHR-related communication skills, especially in situations where patients bring up sensitive psychosocial issues. Future research should focus on patients’ perceptions of the relevance and usefulness of such skills.

Acceptance model of a Hospital Information System

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to develop a model of Hospital Information System (HIS) user acceptance focusing on human, technological, and organizational characteristics for supporting government eHealth programs. This model was then tested to see which hospital type in Indonesia would benefit from the model to resolve problems related to HIS user acceptance.

METHOD

This study used qualitative and quantitative approaches with case studies at four privately owned hospitals and three government-owned hospitals, which are general hospitals in Indonesia. The respondents involved in this study are low-level and mid-level hospital management officers, doctors, nurses, and administrative staff who work at medical record, inpatient, outpatient, emergency, pharmacy, and information technology units. Data was processed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and AMOS 21.0.

RESULTS

The study concludes that non-technological factors, such as human characteristics (i.e. compatibility, information security expectancy, and self-efficacy), and organizational characteristics (i.e. management support, facilitating conditions, and user involvement) which have level of significance of p<0.05, significantly influenced users' opinions of both the ease of use and the benefits of the HIS. This study found that different factors may affect the acceptance of each user in each type of hospital regarding the use of HIS. Finally, this model is best suited for government-owned hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of this study, hospital management and IT developers should have more understanding on the non-technological factors to better plan for HIS implementation. Support from management is critical to the sustainability of HIS implementation to ensure HIS is easy to use and provides benefits to the users as well as hospitals. Finally, this study could assist hospital management and IT developers, as well as researchers, to understand the obstacles faced by hospitals in implementing HIS.

Adoption of e-health technology by physicians: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this scoping review was to summarize the current literature identifying barriers and opportunities that facilitate adoption of e-health technology by physicians.

DESIGN

Scoping review.

SETTING

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases as provided by Ovid were searched from their inception to July 2015. Studies captured by the search strategy were screened by two reviewers and included if the focus was on barriers and facilitators of e-health technology adoption by physicians.

RESULTS

Full-text screening yielded 74 studies to be included in the scoping review. Within those studies, eleven themes were identified, including cost and liability issues, unwillingness to use e-health technology, and training and support.

CONCLUSION

Cost and liability issues, unwillingness to use e-health technology, and training and support were the most frequently mentioned barriers and facilitators to the adoption of e-health technology. Government-level payment incentives and privacy laws to protect health information may be the key to overcome cost and liability issues. The adoption of e-health technology may be facilitated by tailoring to the individual physician's knowledge of the e-health technology and the use of follow-up sessions for physicians and on-site experts to support their use of the e-health technology. To ensure the effective uptake of e-health technologies, physician perspectives need to be considered in creating an environment that enables the adoption of e-health strategies.

Improving Bridging from Informatics Theory to Practice

BACKGROUND

In 1962, Methods of Information in Medicine (MIM) began to publish papers on the methodology and scientific fundamentals of managing data, information, and knowledge in biomedicine and health care. Meeting an increasing demand for research about practical implementation of health information systems, the journal Applied Clinical Informatics (ACI) was launched in 2009. Both journals are official journals of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA).

OBJECTIVES

Based on prior analyses, we aimed to describe major topics published in MIM during 2014 and to explore whether theory of MIM influenced practice of ACI. Our objectives were further to describe lessons learned and to discuss possible editorial policies to improve bridging from theory to practice.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective, observational study reviewing MIM articles published during 2014 (N=61) and analyzing reference lists of ACI articles from 2014 (N=70). Lessons learned and opinions about MIM editorial policies were developed in consensus by the two authors. These have been influenced by discussions with the journal's associate editors and editorial board members.

RESULTS

The publication topics of MIM in 2014 were broad, covering biomedical and health informatics, medical biometry and epidemiology. Important topics discussed were biosignal interpretation, boosting methodologies, citation analysis, health-enabling and ambient assistive technologies, health record banking, safety, and standards. Nine ACI practice articles from 2014 cited eighteen MIM theory papers from any year. These nine ACI articles covered mainly the areas of clinical documentation and medication-related decision support. The methodological basis they cited from was almost exclusively related to evaluation. We could show some direct links where theory impacted practice. These links are however few in relation to the total amount of papers published.

CONCLUSIONS

Editorial policies such as publishing systematic methodological reviews and clarification of possible practical impact of theory-focused articles may improve bridging.

Evaluation Study for an ISO 13606 Archetype Based Medical Data Visualization Method

The objective of this evaluation study is to assess a method for standard based medical data visualization. The method allows flexible and customizable visualization for ISO 13606 archetype based medical data. The chosen evaluation concept is based the Guideline for Good Evaluation Practice in Health Informatics (GEP-HI). The stages of the study were identified. Each stage got a detailed description. We also identified the participants and their required qualifications and responsibilities. The evaluation location was described in details. The evaluation metrics were defined. The questionnaires for doctors, patients and experts were developed to fulfill the requirements of the evaluation study. The study was performed in Tomsk, Russia. 30 patients and 5 doctors participated in the study. The overall performance of the users reached the expert level by the end of the study. Patients as well as medical staff stated in their comments that the usability of the system was high, and they preferred it to the previously used paper-based and computer based systems. This was also shown by the high level of satisfaction measured within our study. The visualization approach, integrated into the electronic health record, was well accepted in our pilot setting with high usability scores from patients and doctors alike. The results showed the efficiency for both modeling and visualization part of the system.

Development, implementation and evaluation of an information model for archetype based user responsive medical data visualization

BACKGROUND

When medical data have been successfully recorded or exchanged between systems there appear a need to present the data consistently to ensure that it is clearly understood and interpreted. A standard based user interface can provide interoperability on the visual level.

OBJECTIVES

The goal of this research was to develop, implement and evaluate an information model for building user interfaces for archetype based medical data.

METHODS

The following types of knowledge were identified as important elements and were included in the information model: medical content related attributes, data type related attributes, user-related attributes, device-related attributes. In order to support flexible and efficient user interfaces an approach that represents different types of knowledge with different models separating the medical concept from a visual concept and interface realization was chosen. We evaluated the developed approach using Guideline for Good Evaluation Practice in Health Informatics (GEP-HI).

RESULTS

We developed a higher level information model to complement the ISO 13606 archetype model. This enabled the specification of the presentation properties at the moment of the archetypes' definition. The model allows realizing different users' perspectives on the data. The approach was implemented and evaluated within a functioning EHR system. The evaluation involved 30 patients of different age and IT experience and 5 doctors. One month of testing showed that the time required reading electronic health records decreased for both doctors (from average 310 to 220s) and patients (from average 95 to 39s). Users reported a high level of satisfaction and motivation to use the presented data visualization approach especially in comparison with their previous experience.

CONCLUSION

The introduced information model allows separating medical knowledge and presentation knowledge. The additional presentation layer will enrich the graphical user interface's flexibility and will allow an optimal presentation of medical data considering the different users' perspectives and different media used for data presentation.

Determinants of clinician adoption of regenerative therapies in the UK and Canada: an ophthalmology perspective

The determinants of adoption of regenerative medicine therapies are currently poorly understood. This study aims to draw comparison between the UK and Canada in terms of factors likely to affect healthcare adoption of future regenerative therapies in ophthalmology. Conducting semi-structured interviews with senior ophthalmologists in the UK and Canada, their perceptions of factors either enabling or limiting adoption were recorded and analyzed. A number of key concepts were extracted from the interview data, perceived by stakeholders to contribute to adoption. The core factors developed in this work will be of use to those looking to understand the opportunities and risks involved in securing clinician adoption in both the UK and Canada.

The Role of Perceived Usefulness and Attitude on Electronic Health Record Acceptance

Information and communications technologies are a significant component of the healthcare domain, and electronic health records play a major role in it. Therefore, it is important that they are accepted en masse by healthcare professionals. How healthcare professionals perceive the usefulness of electronic health records and their attitudes towards them have been shown to have significant effects on the overall acceptance in many healthcare systems around the world. This paper investigates the role of perceived usefulness and attitude on the intention to use electronic health records by future healthcare professionals using polynomial regression with response surface analysis. Results show that the relationships between these variables are more complex than predicted in prior research. The paper concludes that the properties of the above determinants must be further investigated to clearly understand: (i) their role in predicting the intention to use electronic health records; and (ii) in designing systems that are better adopted by healthcare professionals of the future.

Brief review: Adoption of electronic medical records to enhance acute pain management

PURPOSE

The purpose of this paper is to examine physician barriers to adopting electronic medical records (EMRs) as well as anesthesiologists' experiences with the EMRs used by the acute pain management service at two tertiary care centres in Canada.

SOURCE

We first review the recent literature to determine if physician barriers to adoption are changing given the exponential growth of information technology and the evolving healthcare environment. We next report on institutional experience from two academic health sciences centres regarding the challenges they encountered over the past ten years in developing and implementing an electronic medical record system for acute pain management.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

The key identified barriers to adoption of EMRs are financial, technological, and time constraints. These barriers are identical to those reported in a systematic review performed prior to 2009 and remain significant factors challenging implementation. These challenges were encountered during our institution's process of adopting EMRs specific to acute pain management. In addition, our findings emphasize the importance of physician participation in the development and implementation stages of EMRs in order to incorporate their feedback and ensure the EMR system is in keeping with their workflow.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of EMRs will inevitably become the standard of care; however, many barriers persist to impede their implementation and adoption. These challenges to implementation can be facilitated by a corporate strategy for change that acknowledges the barriers and provides the resources for implementation. Adoption will facilitate benefits in communication, patient management, research, and improved patient safety.

Crucial factors for the acceptance of a computerized national medication list: insights into findings from the evaluation of the Austrian e-Medikation pilot

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this paper is to present crucial factors among registered doctors and pharmacists for acceptance of the Austrian 'e-Medikation' system which is aimed at providing, on a national level, complete and recent information on all the medication that were prescribed or dispensed to a patient.

METHODS

As the accompanying formative evaluation study of the pilot project showed different overall acceptance rates among participating physicians and pharmacists, a decision tree analysis of 30 standardized survey items was performed to identify crucial acceptance factors.

RESULTS

For the physicians' group, only two items (fear of improper data use and satisfaction with software support) were crucial for overall e-Medikation acceptance. The analysis of the pharmacists' data resulted in five crucial factors primarily focusing on functional aspects and the perceived benefits of e-Medikation.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that the acceptance among physicians and pharmacists depends on quite different factors. This must be taken into account during the planned rollout of e-Medikation or of comparable products.

The lower saxony bank of health. rationale, principles, services, organization and architectural framework

INTRODUCTION

This article is part of a Focus Theme of METHODS of Information in Medicine on Health Record Banking.

BACKGROUND

Poor communication of health care information between health care providers (HCP) is still a major problem. One recent approach is the concept of Health Record Banking.

OBJECTIVES

With this report we want to introduce the Lower Saxony Bank of Health (LSBH) to the international community. The main objective of this paper is to report and explain: 1) why this organization has been founded, 2) which basic principles have been set, 3) which services will be provided, 4) which type of organization has been chosen, and 5) which architectural framework has been selected.

METHODS

To report and discuss how we plan to achieve the intended objectives.

RESULTS

The LSBH was founded as an entrepreneurial company, regarding itself as a neutral third-party information broker. The bank does not store medical documents on its central servers but offers a document registry with links to documents stored at participating health care providers. Subject to valid patient consent, the LSBH grants access to these documents to authorized health care providers. To implement our services, we chose the established technical frameworks of the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) initiative using cross-enterprise document sharing (XDS).

CONCLUSIONS

Different approaches to establish health information exchange (HIE) are in early stages and some have failed in the past. Health Record Banking can address major challenges described in the literature about HIE. The future will show if our provider-sponsored business model is sustainable. After reaching a stable network, we intend to add additional HCPs, e.g., care homes or ambulance services, to the network.

National electronic health records and the digital disruption of moral orders

The digitalisation of patient health data to provide national electronic health record systems (NEHRS) is a major objective of many governments. Proponents claim that NEHRS will streamline care, reduce mistakes and cut costs. However, building these systems has proved highly problematic. Using recent developments in Australia as an example, we argue that a hitherto unexamined source of difficulty concerns the way NEHRS disrupt the moral orders governing the production, ownership, use of and responsibility for health records. Policies that pursue digitalisation as a self-evident 'solution' to problems in healthcare without due regard to these disruptions risk alienating key stakeholders. We propose a more emergent approach to the development and implementation of NEHRS that supports moral re-ordering around rights and responsibilities appropriate to the intentions of those involved in healthcare relationships.

Unintended adverse consequences of introducing electronic health records in residential aged care homes

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate the unintended adverse consequences of introducing electronic health records (EHR) in residential aged care homes (RACHs) and to examine the causes of these unintended adverse consequences.

METHOD

A qualitative interview study was conducted in nine RACHs belonging to three organisations in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, Australia. A longitudinal investigation after the implementation of the aged care EHR systems was conducted at two data points: January 2009 to December 2009 and December 2010 to February 2011. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 110 care staff members identified through convenience sampling, representing all levels of care staff who worked in these facilities. Data analysis was guided by DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model, in reference with the previous studies of unintended consequences for the introduction of computerised provider order entry systems in hospitals.

RESULTS

Eight categories of unintended adverse consequences emerged from 266 data items mentioned by the interviewees. In descending order of the number and percentage of staff mentioning them, they are: inability/difficulty in data entry and information retrieval, end user resistance to using the system, increased complexity of information management, end user concerns about access, increased documentation burden, the reduction of communication, lack of space to place enough computers in the work place and increasing difficulties in delivering care services. The unintended consequences were caused by the initial conditions, the nature of the EHR system and the way the system was implemented and used by nursing staff members.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the benefits of the EHR systems were obvious, as found by our previous study, introducing EHR systems in RACH can also cause adverse consequences of EHR avoidance, difficulty in access, increased complexity in information management, increased documentation burden, reduction of communication and the risks of lacking care follow-up, which may cause negative effects on aged care services. Further research can focus on investigating how the unintended adverse consequences can be mitigated or eliminated by understanding more about nursing staff's work as well as the information flow in RACH. This will help to improve the design, introduction and management of EHR systems in this setting.

The impact of electronic patient portals on patient care: a systematic review of controlled trials

Background

Modern information technology is changing and provides new challenges to health care. The emergence of the Internet and the electronic health record (EHR) has brought new opportunities for patients to play a more active role in his/her care. Although in many countries patients have the right to access their clinical information, access to clinical records electronically is not common. Patient portals consist of provider-tethered applications that allow patients to electronically access health information that are documented and managed by a health care institution. Although patient portals are already being implemented, it is still unclear in which ways these technologies can influence patient care.

Objective

To systematically review the available evidence on the impact of electronic patient portals on patient care.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted using PubMed and other sources to identify controlled experimental or quasi-experimental studies on the impact of patient portals that were published between 1990 and 2011. A total of 1,306 references from all the publication hits were screened, and 13 papers were retrieved for full text analysis.

Results

We identified 5 papers presenting 4 distinct studies. There were no statistically significant changes between intervention and control group in the 2 randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of patient portals on health outcomes. Significant changes in the patient portal group, compared to a control group, could be observed for the following parameters: quicker decrease in office visit rates and slower increase in telephone contacts; increase in number of messages sent; changes of the medication regimen; and better adherence to treatment.

Conclusions

The number of available controlled studies with regard to patient portals is low. Even when patient portals are often discussed as a way to empower patients and improve quality of care, there is insufficient evidence to support this assumption.

Computers in the examination room and the electronic health record: physicians' perceived impact on clinical encounters before and after full installation and implementation

PURPOSE

We compared physicians' self-reported attitudes and behaviours regarding electronic health record (EHR) use before and after installation of computers in patient examination rooms and transition to full implementation of an EHR in a family medicine training practice to identify anticipated and observed effects these changes would have on physicians' practices and clinical encounters.

METHODS

We conducted two individual qualitative interviews with family physicians. The first interview was before and second interview was 8 months later after full implementation of an EHR and computer installation in the examination rooms. Data were analysed through project team discussions and subsequent coding with qualitative analysis software.

RESULTS

At the first interviews, physicians frequently expressed concerns about the potential negative effect of the EHR on quality of care and physician-patient interaction, adequacy of their skills in EHR use and privacy and confidentiality concerns. Nevertheless, most physicians also anticipated multiple benefits, including improved accessibility of patient data and online health information. In the second interviews, physicians reported that their concerns did not persist. Many anticipated benefits were realized, appearing to facilitate collaborative physician-patient relationships. Physicians reported a greater teaching role with patients and sharing online medical information and treatment plan decisions.

CONCLUSIONS

Before computer installation and full EHR implementation, physicians expressed concerns about the impact of computer use on patient care. After installation and implementation, however, many concerns were mitigated. Using computers in the examination rooms to document and access patients' records along with online medical information and decision-making tools appears to contribute to improved physician-patient communication and collaboration.

Decision support at home (DS@HOME)--system architectures and requirements

Background

Demographic change with its consequences of an aging society and an increase in the demand for care in the home environment has triggered intensive research activities in sensor devices and smart home technologies. While many advanced technologies are already available, there is still a lack of decision support systems (DSS) for the interpretation of data generated in home environments. The aim of the research for this paper is to present the state-of-the-art in DSS for these data, to define characteristic properties of such systems, and to define the requirements for successful home care DSS implementations.

Methods

A literature review was performed along with the analysis of cross-references. Characteristic properties are proposed and requirements are derived from the available body of literature.

Results

79 papers were identified and analyzed, of which 20 describe implementations of decision components. Most authors mention server-based decision support components, but only few papers provide details about the system architecture or the knowledge base. A list of requirements derived from the analysis is presented. Among the primary drawbacks of current systems are the missing integration of DSS in current health information system architectures including interfaces, the missing agreement among developers with regard to the formalization and customization of medical knowledge and a lack of intelligent algorithms to interpret data from multiple sources including clinical application systems.

Conclusions

Future research needs to address these issues in order to provide useful information – and not only large amounts of data – for both the patient and the caregiver. Furthermore, there is a need for outcome studies allowing for identifying successful implementation concepts.

Analysis of the EHR systems in Spanish Primary Public Health System: the lack of interoperability

This paper presents the impact of the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) systems jointly in the Spanish Primary Public Health System. Different EHRs that exist in each of the Spanish regions are discussed. Moreover, other purpose of this analysis is to identify the current state of knowledge about health information systems adoption in primary care in Spain. For the analysis and study of EHRs systems in Spain we have relied on the use of different sources, mostly items related to the study of EHRs systems in different areas. We will analyze some technical aspects of these and some of their major implications, both positive and negative. Moreover, we have resorted to make direct contact with the organizations that have implemented the EHRs systems. The result of this study leads to a main idea, the need for interoperability between different systems. We will delve into how we have reached this conclusion and that is the key to EHRs systems homogenization of Spanish territory. EHR systems used in different regions of Spain offer the access to medical information as well as provide a clinical analysis of each patient more quickly. The adoption of health information systems is seen world wide as one method to mitigate the widening health care demand and supply gap.