A Case Study to Assess Implementation of Electronic Health Records at Central Flacq Hospital, Mauritius

Abstract

The challenges of implementing electronic health records (EHRs) have received some attention, but little is known about the process of transitioning from paper-based to electronic files. In this paper, a mixed approach using combined qualitative and quantitative methods is utilized. The authors enrolled nine administrative managers and 87 employees from different backgrounds, all part of a regional hospital at Flacq in Mauritius, from April to May 2011. Employees responded to a survey on various aspects pertaining to their eagerness to accept the shift to electronic health records and their views on the probability of success. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative results and content analysis was performed on the qualitative data. Nurses performing at middle level agreed that a shift to EHR is positive but felt that it might take a long time to effect the change. With its implementation, they agreed that advantages like up to date information, diminished workload, and cost effectiveness would be easily attained. In contrast, focus groups confirmed that without the collaboration and support of management, implementation of EHR would prove arduous. DOI: 10.4018/jcmam.2012010101 2 International Journal of Computational Models and Algorithms in Medicine, 3(1), 1-13, January-March 2012 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. In the wake of an e-health strategy for Mauritius, challenges in implementing electronic health records (EHRs) have received some attention, but little is known about the process of transitioning from paper-based files to electronic filing. Implementing an EMR is probably the most difficult, significant, and potentially beneficial change a practice can make. The change has wide-ranging impact on the experience of everyone in the office, from physicians to staff, and to patients. When done correctly it can yield benefits on the quality of patient care, ease of charting, and improvement in revenue. When done wrong, it creates longer working hours, decreased revenue, employee dissatisfaction with work, and encroachment upon the personal time. Making any change to a large extent is never easy, and most physicians describe starting an EMR in their practice as one of the most difficult organizational experiences that their practice had to face.