2009 Volume 8 Issue 2 Pages 321-326
The electronic medical records (EMR) has been expected to have many effects on the healthcare practices. Since many evaluations of the EMR were subjective evaluations by the questionnaire survey of the user satisfaction rating, in this research an objective evaluation of the EMR was tried. The contributions of the EMR to sharing patient information among healthcare professions was investigated, since it seemed to be most easily achieved. According to the success model of the information system of DeLone and McLean, the user satisfaction rating, the use, and the introduction effect relate each other, and the information system functions well. Then it was tried to evaluate the use and the introduction effect objectively by the access log analysis in this research. The EMR at Kochi University Hospital was investigated, and considering the characteristics of that system the contribution of the electronic nursing records (ENR) to sharing patient information among healthcare professionals was examined. As a result, it was found that many healthcare professions who need patient information on the ENR frequently used the ENR and that the reduction of a spatial restriction on accessing nursing records and the shortening working hours to collect patient information were achieved. From the access log analyses the problems of the system for users and healthcare professions using the ENR could be identified. However, the reason why they used or did not use the ENR could not be understood and the direct question to them was necessary. It was reconfirmed that the overall evaluation that combined the satisfaction rating, the use and the introduction effect was essential for the success of the information system.
