Assessment of the Current Paper Based Medical Record System At Multi-Drug Resistance Tuberculosis Department in Saint Peter Hospital for Introducing Electronic Medical Record System.
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Date
2014-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Introduction: Health care is one of the critical components of basic social services that have a
direct linkage to the growth and development of a country as well as to the wellbeing of society. In
response to this, the Federal Ministry of Health, supported by its technical partners, is involved in a
number of ICT projects and services. And one of these projects is electronic medical record (EMR)
which is computerized medical information systems that collect, store and display patient
information. It is a means to create legible and organized recordings and to access clinical
information about individual patients. As the medical recorded system of Ethiopia had been
entangled with a number of problems, this study tried to assess the problem of paper based medical
record for introducing EMR at MDR TB department in St. Peter hospital.
Objective: the general objective of this study is assessment of the current paper based medical
record for introducing EMR at MDR TB department in St. Peter Hospital.
Methodology: Across-section study design with quantitative and qualitative methods of collecting
data was conducted at MDR TB department in St. Peter TB Hospital from April/2014 to May/2014.
All the 27 health professionals (physicians ,nurses and health officers) staff working in the MDR
department including head of laboratory, pharmacy, imaging, MDRTB department and head nurse
of the department were selected purposive sampling technique was utilized for the selection.
Moreover, all the 182 MDR TB patients were included in the study. Self administered
questionnaires, Interviews and observation techniques were utilized SPSS version 20 was utilized to
analyze quantitative data, frequency and percentages were used to describe the study population.
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Findings: gaps or problems identified in the paper based medical record system were illegibility,
incompleteness, redundancy of data, difficulty in accessing data, inefficient communication system
with different departments about patient issues, and shortage of storage space, digital x-ray machine
shortage of computer and misplacing of patient card.
Conclusion and Recommendations: Most of the problems identified with the paper based medical
system at MDR-TB are typical of those problems faced in any paper based system. Therefore,
Introduction of EMR would help to reduce problems associated with legibility, completeness,
redundancy and other problems and foster good communication of patient data among the
departments. Moreover, it would relieve storage space problems. The Hospital plans to adopt Smart
care developed by Tulane University. But it would be important to analyze the actual situation in
the department and study the software so as to make it adaptable.
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Keywords
Based Medical Record System, At Multi-Drug Resistance Tuberculosis Department