Adoption of E-Health Records Management Systems as a Strategy to Improve Service Delivery in Public Hospitals in Kenya

Abstract

Purpose: To establish the extent to which the adoption of an electronic records management system influences service delivery in public hospitals in Kenya. Materials and Methods: A descriptive research method, correlational research design, and mixed method of research were employed. The target population was all the 1207 professional staff working in Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital as well as 1841 outpatients treated in both hospitals between January and May. To select the 341 respondents of the research, a stratified random sampling technique was used. The researcher used secondary and primary data. Semi-structured questionnaires were distributed to the respondents to allow for the collection of primary data. Qualitative data was analyzed with the help of thematic analysis. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used in the analysis of quantitative data. Descriptive statistics that were used include mean, percentages, frequencies, and standard deviation. Inferential statistics that were used are multiple regression analysis, correlation analysis, and univariate regression analysis. Findings: The correlation analysis results showed that there exists a positive correlation between the utilization of electronic records management and service delivery in public hospitals (r=0.733, p-value=0.000). In addition, regression analysis results showed that the utilization of electronic records management had a positive influence on service delivery in public hospitals in Kenya (β=0.715, p-value=0.000). Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommends that public hospitals in Kenya should fully adopt and utilize electronic record management as a way of improving efficiency in service delivery in terms of waiting time and loss of files.