title: Satisfaction of health-care providers with electronic health records and perceived barriers to its implementation in the United Arab Emirates.
abstract: The integration of electronic health records (EHRs) has shown promise in improving health-care quality. In the United Arab Emirates, EHRs have been recently adopted to improve the quality and safety of patient care. A cross-sectional survey of 680 health-care providers (HCPs) was conducted to assess the satisfaction of HCPs in the United Arab Emirates with EHRs' impact on access/viewing, documentation and medication administration and to explore the barriers encountered in their use. Data were collected over 6 months from April to September 2014. High overall satisfaction with EHRs was reported by HCPs, suggesting their acceptance. Physicians reported the greatest overall satisfaction with EHRs, although nurses showed significantly higher satisfaction with the impact on medication administration compared with other HCPs. The most significant barriers reported by nurses were lack of belief in the value of EHRs for patients and lack of adequate computer skills. Given the large investment in technology, additional research is necessary to promote the full utilization of EHRs. Nurses need to be aware of the value of EHRs for patient care and be involved in all stages of EHR implementations to maximize its meaningful use for better clinical outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Wegdan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bani-Issa
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
authors.forename: Nabeel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al Yateem
authors.affiliation: Nursing Program, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.|School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Ibtihal Khalaf
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Al Makhzoomy
authors.affiliation: College of Business Administration/Marketing Department, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014479:United Arab Emirates; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: barriers; electronic health records; health-care providers; health-care quality; satisfaction