ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYSTEMS;

Introduction: e-Health is a combination of medical informatics, public health,business and information technology. Health information technology has increased theproductivity by reengineering of health care but it requires new measurement tools to monitorthe impact of it .e-health is not only for the development of technologies but also it includesproper planning, thinking, broad thinking to improve healthcare services with the help ofinformation and communication technology. Objectives: 1) To assess the perceptions ofphysicians towards the use, effectiveness and efficiency of EHR 2) To identify the differencesbetween electronic and paper based records 3) To evaluate the usage of Electronic HealthRecords.4) To analyze satisfaction and challenges face by the physicians using EHR. ResearchDesign: This is an Exploratory and Descriptive Research. In this study hybrid research methodis used which includes qualitative and quantitative research methods. Sampling technique:For this study, a purposive sample of 43 physicians was selected. The sample size was 60but 17 responses were incomplete so they were excluded and the final sample size was 43.Data was collected from two different hospitals of Pakistan which include the physicians fromShaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, and Indus Hospital. Of the43 participants, 51% were from Indus Hospital and 49% were from Shaukat Khanum MemorialCancer Hospital and Research Centre. Instrument: A structured questionnaire was used tocollect data and it was collected by email responses and direct interview. EHR Questionnaire:A questionnaire was used in the study. The EHR Questionnaire has comprised of 24 items. Thisquestionnaire was developed by Msukwa. B.K.Martin.1 Data Analysis: Data analysis was doneby Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel. Procedure: The sampleconsisted of physicians from Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre,and Indus Hospital from Karachi. EHR is a new technology and hospitals are moving towardsit, some are under process and very few like the above mentioned hospitals are using it. Thequestionnaire was not complicated. It was a structured questionnaire with easy questions withmultiple options to fill in. Respondents were also acknowledged for their cooperation andparticipation in the study. Conclusion: EHR should be used effectively, proper training is neededto ensure that physicians are able to operate the system and can have maximum benefits fromthe technology by utilizing all its applications. The government should encourage adoption ofElectronic Health l Records in Pakistan by developing a public-private partnership. The studyfocused also on EHR effectiveness by checking the working of EHR its quick and satisfactoryresults its accuracy, adequacy, timeliness, user- friendliness, availability and reliability.