title: Electronic Dental Record (EDR) Use in Saudi Arabia: An Exploratory Study.
abstract: The purpose of this exploratory study is to provide an overview of the electronic dental records (EDR) systems used at National Guard Health Affair (NGHA) hospitals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Different sources of data were collected between February 18 and March 16, 2014. Sources of data included interviews with key informants. Key informants interviews included one 30 minute interview with an information technology specialist working at NGHA; seven 30-40 minute interview with dentists working in both the NGHA hospital and affiliated NGHA Primary Healthcare Clinics (PHCs). Two dental ward clerks were interviewed for 30 minutes and two dental directors were interviewed for 1 hour each. Four main themes emerged as a result of the analysis of the data. The main themes that emerged centered on staff satisfaction and workload, incomplete information, missing files, and adoption of EDRs. There were several challenges identified with the use of EDRs in Saudi Arabia. The challenges related to resistance to use the EDRs by clinical staff; lack of computer skills by clinical staff; usability of the systems; lack of interest in using EDRs; and lack of a clear management change strategy. Moving forward, these issues should be addressed so that more EDRs are implemented in all healthcare institutions in Saudi Arabia.
authors.affiliation: Prince Megren Data Mining Research Center (MEGDAM), Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almaiman
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Salwa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahkali
authors.affiliation: King Abdulaziz Medical city, Ministry of national Guard, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahlam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bahkali
authors.affiliation: Riyadh colleges for dentistry and pharmacy.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almaiman
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ashraf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elmetwally
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Health Informatics, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mowafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Househ
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001292:Attitude to Computers; D003197:Computer Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D048048:Dental Informatics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003792:Dental Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003797:Dental Staff / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003815:Dentists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D014600:Utilization Review