Abstract
BackgroundWith the proliferation of electronic medical record (EMR) systems, there is an increasing interest in utilizing EMR data for medical research; yet, there is no quantitative research on EMR data utilization for medical research purposes in China.ObjectiveThis study aimed to understand how and to what extent EMR data are utilized for medical research purposes in a Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) Stage 7 hospital in Beijing, China. Obstacles and issues in the utilization of EMR data were also explored to provide a foundation for the improved utilization of such data.MethodsFor this descriptive cross-sectional study, cluster sampling from Xuanwu Hospital, one of two Stage 7 hospitals in Beijing, was conducted from 2016 to 2019. The utilization of EMR data was described as the number of requests, the proportion of requesters, and the frequency of requests per capita. Comparisons by year, professional title, and age were conducted by double-sided chi-square tests.ResultsFrom 2016 to 2019, EMR data utilization was poor, as the proportion of requesters was 5.8% and the frequency was 0.1 times per person per year. The frequency per capita gradually slowed and older senior-level staff more frequently used EMR data compared with younger staff.ConclusionsThe value of using EMR data for research purposes is not well studied in China. More research is needed to quantify to what extent EMR data are utilized across all hospitals in Beijing and how these systems can enhance future studies. The results of this study also suggest that young doctors may be less exposed or have less reason to access such research methods.
Highlights
Electronic medical records (EMRs), or digitized versions of patient medical charts, are often considered a key component of a hospital or health care system’s health information system [1]
The amount and availability of clinical data automatically collected by EMRs are increasing at an exponential rate [10,11], and EMRs have been recognized as a valuable resource for observational data and for large-scale analyses [12,13]
The frequency at which EMR data was used for medical research 4 years, with a bottleneck occurring in 2019, during which the increased significantly between 2016 and 2018 (Table 2)
Summary
Electronic medical records (EMRs), or digitized versions of patient medical charts, are often considered a key component of a hospital or health care system’s health information system [1]. EMR systems have transformed data and record keeping in the medical field, and they enable providers to more systematically track patient information over time, promote a more holistic approach to patient care, support the streamlining of preventative screening, support the monitoring of patients, and improve overall quality [2,3]. Objective: This study aimed to understand how and to what extent EMR data are utilized for medical research purposes in a Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) Stage 7 hospital in Beijing, China. The results of this study suggest that young doctors may be less exposed or have less reason to access such research methods
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