A Workflow Solution for Electronic Health Records to Improve Healthcare Delivery Efficiency in Rural India

Abstract

Use of Information Technology in Healthcare, especially Electronic Health Records (EHRs), can potentially improve healthcare. However, worldwide usage of EHRs is limited and studies in developed countries like USA have shown that electronic record systems have been slow to become part of the practices of the physicians. According to these studies, there could be a possible high failure rate for electronic health record implementation because of the complexity of usage of these EHR systems. In India, there have been no definitive national studies that provide estimates on the use of electronic health records. To gain insight into the functioning of the healthcare centers in rural India with respect to use of information technology and their effectiveness in healthcare delivery a survey was done. From the results of the survey it is evident that the quality of healthcare delivery in rural India can be improved by using information technology. The patient records used in most of the healthcare centers were poorly maintained and had minimal data to help doctors treat the patient effectively. The usage of medical records was also very minimal thus leading to reduction in effectiveness of healthcare delivery. The patient referrals from one healthcare center to another were done mostly by paper documents and telephonic talk. As there were no facilities to accurately track patients history, the quality of referrals and hence the quality of healthcare delivery suffered. The investigation revealed that the operating efficiency of the healthcare centers could be improved by employing EHRs that suit the rural environment. Fully functional EHRs are very elaborate and cumbersome to use in the rural context and they do not incentivize the doctors to use them. An Employable Electronic Health Record (EEHR) that has basic functionality and adequate information for the purpose of rural patients can motivate the doctors to use the EHR system. It will be simple to use and pragmatic for implementation. An EEHR Workflow Solution (WebEHR) is proposed for effective and improved healthcare delivery.

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