Acceptability, benefits and barriers of electronic health record radiology image sharing: A mixed-method study

The electronic Health Record Sharing System (eHRSS) bridges public and private healthcare providers to efficiently share and access patient medical records. This study examined the acceptability, benefits and barriers of electronic Health Record (eHR) radiology image sharing as perceived by patients and physicians. This study found radiology image sharing can help improve the management and performance of medical services, but information asymmetry and insufficient publicity still affect the development of information sharing.

Physicians who were potential adopters of radiology image sharing system in Hong Kong were recruited for the quantitative study. In-depth interviews were conducted to examine acceptability, perceived benefits, barriers and potential areas for improvement of radiology image sharing system among physicians and patients. Other descriptive data collected included age, gender, clinical experience and practice type. Correlation between predictors, acceptability and perceived benefits were examined using linear and logistic regression analyses.

A total of 288 surveys and 10 interviews were included. High level of user satisfaction (78.5%) with raised patient healthcare experience (82.3%) towards radiology image sharing system was observed. It was seen as highly capable to overcome limitations from using the films and traditional logistics (87.2%). System quality was a significant factor associated with acceptability (aOR = 4.307, 95% CI: 1.815-10.223, p = 0.001). Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) displayed high acceptability towards all system features, tracking patient history in particular. Patients expressed positive attitudes towards radiology image sharing and it is helpful for selecting radiology centres.

Particular features of radiology image sharing were associated with positive user acceptability and perceptions. Recommendations included enhancing promotional efforts, encouraging private institutions to enrol, data confidentiality reassurance and granting same level access to patient and provider.