Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Dec 28;14(1):31398.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-83009-y.

Assessing the factors militating against the effective implementation of electronic health records (EHR) in Nigeria

Abisola Esther Babatope  1 , Idowu Peter Adewumi  2 , Damola Olanipekun Ajisafe  3 , Kayode Olayiwola Adepoju  2 , Adetola Rachael Babatope  4
Affiliations

Assessing the factors militating against the effective implementation of electronic health records (EHR) in Nigeria

Abisola Esther Babatope et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

This study assessed the factors militating against the effective implementation of electronic health records (EHR) in Nigeria, the computerization of patients' health records with a lot of benefits including improved patients' satisfaction, improved care processes, reduction of patients' waiting time, and medication errors. Despite these benefits, healthcare organizations are slow to adopt the EHR system. Therefore, the study assessed the factors militating against the effective implementation of the EHR system, the level of awareness of EHR, and the utilization of electronic health records; it also investigated the factors militating against the effective implementation of EHR. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among members of staff of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH). Purposive sampling was adopted to select the study participants, and a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 27 was used for data analysis, R and Microsoft Excel were used for data visualization. Findings revealed that the respondents had a high level of awareness of EHR with an average mean of 1.29. The study revealed a low utilization rate for EHR (mean 3.01, SD 0.115) and data storage (mean 3.00, SD 0.231), indicating major problems with EHR implementation. Financial limitations (mean 2.63, SD 0.486) and insufficient ICT resources (mean 2.62, SD 0.516) are the main challenges. The regression analysis revealed that EHR utilization is highly impacted by awareness (F = 4.26, p < 0.008), accounting for 15.1% of the variance. Governmental assistance and financial constraints showed a statistically significant negative correlation (r=-0.04, p < 0.05), while inadequate internet connectivity and epileptic power supply showed a statistically significant positive association (r = 0.1, p < 0.05). The results show that, more government support is needed to alleviate financial constraints, and a stable power supply may enhance internet accessibility. The study concluded that epileptic power supply, poor internet connectivity, financial constraints, and other factors mentioned in the study militate against the effective implementation of electronic health records. It was recommended that the management should implement electronic health records effectively for efficient and effective health care delivery.

Keywords: Computerization; Data integrity; Electronic; Health records; Patients’ satisfaction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Level of awareness of electronic health records.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Utilisation of electronic health records.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Factors militating against effective implementation of EHR.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Litwin, A. S. Technological change in health care delivery: Its drivers and consequences for work and workers. 1–99. (2020).
    1. Iyanna, S., Kaur, P., Ractham, P., Talwar, S. & Najmul Islam, A. K. M. Digital transformation of healthcare sector. What is impeding adoption and continued usage of technology-driven innovations by end-users? J. Bus. Res.153, 150–161 (2022).
    1. Wang, W., Ferrari, D., Haddon-Hill, G. & Curcin, V. Electronic Health Records as Source of Research Data. 331–354. (2023). - PubMed
    1. Negro-Calduch, E., Azzopardi-Muscat, N., Krishnamurthy, R. S. & Novillo-Ortiz, D. Technological progress in electronic health record system optimization: Systematic review of systematic literature reviews. Int. J. Med. Inform.152, 104507 (2021). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dornan, L. et al. Utilisation of electronic health records for public health in Asia: A review of success factors and potential challenges. In BioMed Research International. (Wiley, 2019). - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources