The Adoption of Electronic Health Records in Primary Healthcare Settings

Little is known about the adoption rate of electronic health records in primary healthcare settings. This study aimed to estimate this adoption rate in Jordan, using a national survey with a descriptive cross-sectional design. The first step was to review the annual report of the Jordanian Ministry of Health as a basis for identifying the sample, which are primary healthcare settings. Then, Electronic Health Solutions, the company that vends electronic health record systems in Jordan, was used to determine which primary healthcare settings were using these electronic record systems. The final task was to determine which functionalities of the system were being used in these settings, and for this, a telephone survey of key personnel was conducted. It was found that 21.6% of the primary healthcare settings were using electronic health records, while the other 78.4% were still relying on paper records. The results also showed that the adoption rate of electronic health records was significantly associated with the type of the setting (P < .001), its size (P < .001), location (P < .001), and region (P = .04). As a conclusion, the adoption rate in Jordan is still in its infancy compared with those in developed countries. Policy and decision makers should therefore be focused on minimizing any challenges or obstacles to such adoption.