Evaluating the knowledge and perception of electronic health records and computer-based patient maintenance among dental professionals

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Electronic health records (EHRs), considered one of the crucial advances in technological health-care delivery, have made medical details easier to procure from anywhere. It has a distinct edge over paper records, and medical literature also reveals that implementing EHRs is instrumental in refining the documentation quality. With this study, we understand its utility and prevalence in the current scenario. Aim: The current study investigated the knowledge and perception of EHR sand computer-based patient maintenance among Indian dentists. We also highlighted the current state of EHR in India while discussing the financial and legal barriers. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was done to assess the awareness and perception of EHRs among randomly selected dentists practicing in India. The questionnaire with three sections and 33 questions was distributed through Google Forms through E-mail to contacts and promoted on social media among various dental community groups. Results: We found that majorly private practices (30.4%) and multispecialty dental colleges (39%) opted for electronic dental records (EDRs). Largely, Indian dentists were utilizing hybrid formats which depicted their inclination to evolve with the everyday-upgrading digital dentistry. However, 47.5% of practitioners still fear their use due to the risk of data loss. Conclusions: The increasing prevalence of EDRs is a promise toward an absolute diagnosis, preventing medical errors with their availability at the point of care, reducing repetitive laboratory tests, and consequently the financial burden on patients.