Implementation of Nationwide Electronic Health Record in Albania: A Case Study

This paper presents a case study of the nationwide implementation of an Electronic Health Record system based on industry standards.

To critically review the finalized nationwide EHR implementation in Albania, pointing out the achievements and the shortcomings, gained knowledge and sharing lessons learned.

This paper reports on our analysis of the project's documentation, first-hand experience working with healthcare professionals during and after project implementation. The initial system uptake analysis has been made using EHR usage statistics.

Despite very poor initial ICT infrastructure, minimal or non-existing medical nomenclature and a rather challenging project schedule, the nationwide implementation of the EHR system was successfully completed in less than two years.

Although the system is already in use by 79 healthcare providers and is covering secondary and tertiary care, the majority of clinical data still remains in paper format; the access for clinicians to the system is limited due to insufficient ICT infrastructure.