title: Factors influencing diffusion of electronic medical records: a case study in three healthcare institutions in Japan.
abstract: This study examines the effect of three factors: information technology (IT) skills of healthcare workers, present status of computerisation in their organisations, and workers' attitudes on the diffusion of electronic medical records (EMRs) in the healthcare environment. Data were obtained from a self-questionnaire distributed to 390 healthcare workers. The study finds that respondents need an expanded EMR capability to include decision support systems and reminder systems, and that diffusion of EMR is heavily influenced by attitudes of healthcare workers. However, targeted training of healthcare workers is needed to foster positive attitudes about EMR, and build confidence in the benefits of these systems.
authors.affiliation: Health and Welfare Information System, Health Services Management, Graduate School, International University of Health and Welfare, Tochigi, Japan. gotiochiengs@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Otieno George
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Ochieng
authors.forename: Ryozo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hosoi
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D003200:Computer User Training; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006739:Hospital Administration; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D007564:Japan; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020380:Needs Assessment; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000193:education; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires