Facilitators and Barriers to User Adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems

Abstract

Information Technology (IT) applications have brought massive changes in healthcare and health providers have shifted from paper-based systems to computerized ones. The electronic medical record (EMR) and personal health record (PHR) are good examples of the application of IT in healthcare settings. Despite the enormous benefits of the available applications in healthcare, the adoption of EMR in primary care has been identified at 38.4 percent in the U.S., in Denmark, almost 62 percent of doctors use EMR, while only 55 percent of Australian physicians apply EMR systems (Sicotte et al. 2016; Venkatesh et al. 2011). Furthermore, with regard to the PHR system, the Australian government’s development of a national PHR system (personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) system) in 2010 was a part of their national e-health strategy to overcome common challenges such as medication errors, fragmented sources of health information, repetition of tests, an increase in chronic illness, workforce resource constraints, and individuals’ changing expectations of technology. The Australian government expected that 500,000 users would register at the first release of the national PHR system; however, only 400,000 users have signed up to this system and of those, many registered but their records remain empty.