Medical Dental Practitioners Assessments of Electronic Dental Record in Primary Health Care in Kuwait

Abstract

Background: The adopting of electronic patient records can improve healthcare quality and efficiency, including in dentistry. Doctors understanding are important for the suc-cessful implementation of such systems into routine use.Aim of the Study: The study objective was to assess the dentists prospective about electronic dental records.Material and Methods: For this cross-sectional national survey, 300 self-administered questionnaires were distributed to dentists working at randomly selected primary-health centers in the five healthcare regions of Kuwait during November (2016) and March (2017). We received 247 completed ques-tionnaires (82% response rate). This study collected socio-demographic data and responses on Likert scales to 44 state-ments on the benefits, features and functionality of electronic records, accessing and sharing, as well as obstacles preventing their use and practitioners' resistance.Results: Participants responded very positively, particularly on issues such as the storage of radiographic images (85% agreed) and records (89%), sharing patient records with other dentists (96%), and the potential for improving medical histories (98%). The main obstacles to uptake identified were software/hardware issues (57%) and the need for technical training (55%) and maintenance (65%). There was some regional variation in positive responses.Conclusions: Kuwaiti medical dental practitioners recog-nize the need for electronic patient records to optimize the quality of patient care. They generally have positive attitudes towards electronic records, and most agree that accessing and sharing them with other healthcare providers is useful. They identified several obstacles to uptake, such as the need for technical support and training. Our findings indicate a context supportive of the widespread adoption of electronic dental records in Kuwait.

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