The Use of Electronic Health Records in Physiotherapy Practice: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Physical Therapy
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Physiotherapy is cost-effective but requires service improvements through better data management.
• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are valuable for healthcare data management but underutilized in physiotherapy.
• There is a need to understand the application and implementation of EHRs in physiotherapy settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map the existing evidence on the diverse applications of EHRs within physiotherapy.
• To identify the characteristics, development, and implementation processes of physiotherapy EHR platforms.
• To understand the outcomes associated with EHR use in physiotherapy.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review following Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines.
• Inclusion of original studies and grey literature from 2010 onwards in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.
• Searches conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases.

Main Results:

• Data extraction focused on EHR characteristics, development, implementation, and outcomes in physiotherapy.
• Extracted information will be categorized and presented in tables and charts.
• A narrative summary will accompany the data visualization.

Conclusions:

• The review will synthesize knowledge on developing and implementing physiotherapy EHRs.
• It will provide insights into necessary steps, strategies, and procedures.
• This synthesis aims to inform future investment and utilization of EHRs in physiotherapy.