Integrated Electronic Health Record System in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Single Centre Implementation Experience

Abstract

An integrated electronic health record system is a common platform for efficient and active interaction of four major subsystems namely the medical record system, laboratory system, picture archiving and communication system and enterprise resource planning system. Barriers like knowledge and attitude of computer usage, time consumption, information technology workforce, electricity, cost of technology and devices, data safety and security deter institutions from implementation. However, implementation of this system is inevitable with its inherent advantages of efficient storage and timely retrieval, comparison of lab and imaging data over time, cash billing, institutional resource planning and finally ease of processing insurance claims as the Government of Nepal is looking forward to financing public health sector through the national health insurance system. Many hospitals struggle to implement and maintain integrated electronic health records. We aimed to discuss the steps undertaken to integrate this system in a district hospital setting with the inherent challenges and the subsequent impact.