From data entry to digital transformation: Allied health perspectives on standardised electronic medical records data

Electronic medical records (EMRs) currently rely on standardised data fields to support secondary data use for clinical care, performance monitoring, and system-level reporting. However, utilisation of standardised data capture and reporting within allied health remains underdeveloped in practice. Greater understanding of how allied health clinicians and managers perceive the purpose, value, and impact of standardised data collection is needed to support advancement in data maturity and transformation of utilisation.

To explore the perceived benefits, challenges and future opportunities of standardised data collection within an EMR, from the allied health perspective.

A qualitative descriptive study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with 28 allied health clinicians and managers from 5 allied health disciplines: Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech Pathology, and Social Work.

Five overarching themes reflected a gap between the acknowledged value of standardised data collection and its current utilisation in allied health practice: (i) Recognised value but unrealised potential of EMR data, including its role in clinical insights, service planning, financial justification, and professional advocacy; (ii) System and workflow misalignment limits meaningful data use, including disconnect between data collection and use, workflow burden, inefficient data capture, system constraints; (iii) Standardisation as both enabler and constraint, supporting benchmarking and system alignment while limiting clinical flexibility and contextual relevance; (iv) Pathways to advancing data maturity, including training, improved data and digital literacy, and integration with emerging technologies; and the broader impact of (v) Digital workflows reshaping workforce and care delivery, with implications for team-based and person-centred care.

While standardised EMR data were recognised as valuable, their potential remains limited when data collection is poorly aligned with allied health workflows. Advancing allied health data maturity requires clinically meaningful, workflow-integrated and feedback-driven approaches that improve usability while supporting high-quality data for secondary use.Implication for health information management practice:Standardisation efforts must balance data quality with clinical relevance, ensuring data collection aligns with real-world workflows and supports meaningful use.