A Proposed Framework for Developing an Electronic Medical Record System

Abstract

The deployment of an electronic medical records (EMR) raises several important issues. Those addressed in this study are the access to such a system, the satisfaction on the security and authorization protocols to follow, the awareness of backup and recovery mechanisms in place, and the appreciation of the training of the IT staff. This qualitative study took place in the natural setting of the medical units' environments. A purposive sample of 40 professionals in Greece and Oman was used. The study underlines that the patients should have access to their records, whereas for the pharmacists the professionals' views are seriously divided. Every other person's access to such a record should be restricted and recorded. The professionals are satisfied with the security level, the ICTs training, and the backup and recovery mechanism in place. They almost all admitted there is an authorization schema followed to access the EMR. The main contribution of the study is the proposal of a framework of policies and procedures for the development of such a system.