Factors Affecting Acceptance of Electronic Medical Records System in Murang’a County Referral Hospital in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: The acceptance of Electronic Medical Records systems deployed at healthcare facilities by the government, private institutions and Facility Based Organizations is paramount in achieving the intended outcomes of the systems. However, many systems face acceptance barriers. The application of Electronic Medical Records system has gained popularity and is widely used in Kenyan hospitals today. Many studies have been conducted in other countries to study the factors influencing acceptance and utilization of EMR technology, but still a few number of studies exist in Kenya. This study seeks to find out factors influencing acceptance of electronic medical records system in public health facilities using a case study of Murang’a County Referral Hospital in Murang’a County. Electronic Medical Records assists in collection, storage and retrieval of patient’s data which can summarized to give brief overview of the patient’s medical history as well as other health indices and workload reports.

Methods: In this study, the target population was 217 employees on permanent, contract and temporary terms at the Murang’a County Referral Hospital. These were selected from a population of 500 staff. To choose the participants, Stratified sampling method was used as it is a non-bias method that gave realistic and accurate representative data of the target population. The tool used in this research was a questionnaire. Both structured and unstructured questionnaires were used. A Pre-test was conducted at Kenneth Matiba Eye and dental Hospital in Kenol Murang’a. The filled questionnaires were first edited for completeness and clarity. Quantitative data analysis was used in the study. The data collected was coded and analyzed using SPSS v20 and Microsoft Excel 2019. Descriptive Statistics using cross tabulation was used to describe the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Results:  The findings showed that majority (61%) of respondents had diploma qualifications as their highest level of education and huge number of respondents (76%) had comparable work experience ranging between 1 and 5 years. This study also revealed that 82% of the respondents had received some training on EMRs and 91% had computers in their departments .Most of the respondents considered commitment of management to implementation of EMRs remained neutral (M=3.08.The study findings showed that 85% of the respondents were in agreement that EMR quickens clinical decision-making process and another 92% agreed that EMR makes it easier to retrieve medical records. Majority of the respondents (81%) felt that it was difficult to create time to study EMR system with (M=1.2).

Conclusion and Recommendation: As such, so as to enhance acceptance of EMR, Adequate staffing and adequate incentives to adoption of EMRs ought to be explored. Also, Guidelines on data privacy and security ought to be developed and enforced. It is envisioned that by mainstreaming EHR/EMR content in basic healthcare, curricula will entrench them to the health sector. This research recommends that future endeavors should explore more issues that may encourage the acceptance of EMR.