Implementation of Electronic Health Record System in Ghana: A Review

Abstract

There are several pieces of evidence to prove that electronic health records (EHRs) can improve the quality of service, efficiency, safety, and positive patient outcomes. Past decades have seen rapid growth in EHR system implementation in healthcare institutions in developing countries. Effective implementation of EHR system provides a unique opportunity to collect a wide range of patient data to support health tracking over a time period. This study seeks to make a case as to why despite some EHR system implementations in Ghana, there has not been any significant improvement in patient outcomes. This research is not a systematic review but assesses the implementation challenges of EHRs in Ghana. Several papers were identified by searching through some databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Medline, using the following topics: EHR implementation, EHR implementation challenges, and EHR system implementation and EHR challenges in Ghana. The approach to the implementation of EHR system largely depends on the country dynamics and does not necessarily follow top-down or bottom-up methods. The focus should also be on the institution and whether they have the resources to make the project implementation successful. End-users should be an integral part of the whole implementation process, and their recommendations should be followed and implemented.