Electronic patient record and its effects on social aspects of interprofessional collaboration and clinical workflows in hospitals (eCoCo): a mixed methods study protocol

BMC Health Services Research

Julia Jaschke¹  Juliane Köberlein-Neu¹  Kerstin Dittmer²  Holger Pfaff²  Maya Nocon²  Carsten Rusniok²  Marina Beckmann²  Ute Karbach³  Florian Wurster³ 

[1] Center for Health Economics and Health Services Research, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany;Institute of Medical Sociology Health Services Research, and Rehabilitation Science (IMVR), Faculty of Human Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Eupener Str. 129, 50933, Cologne, Germany;Sociology in Rehabilitation, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Technical University Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany;

关键词: Electronic patient record;    EPR;    Hospital;    Clinical communication;    Interprofessional collaboration;    Mixed methods;    Digitalization;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-021-06377-5

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe need for and usage of electronic patient records within hospitals has steadily increased over the last decade for economic reasons as well as the proceeding digitalization. While there are numerous benefits from this system, the potential risks of using electronic patient records for hospitals, patients and healthcare professionals must also be discussed. There is a lack in research, particularly regarding effects on healthcare professionals and their daily work in health services. The study eCoCo aims to gain insight into changes in interprofessional collaboration and clinical workflows resulting from introducing electronic patient records.MethodseCoCo is a multi-center case study integrating mixed methods from qualitative and quantitative social research. The case studies include three hospitals that undergo the process of introducing electronic patient records. Data are collected before and after the introduction of electronic patient records using participant observation, interviews, focus groups, time measurement, patient and employee questionnaires and a questionnaire to measure the level of digitalization. Furthermore, documents (patient records) as well as structural and administrative data are gathered. To analyze the interprofessional collaboration qualitative network analyses, reconstructive-hermeneutic analyses and document analyses are conducted. The workflow analyses, patient and employee assessment analyses and classification within the clinical adoption meta-model are conducted to provide insights into clinical workflows.DiscussionThis study will be the first to investigate the effects of introducing electronic patient records on interprofessional collaboration and clinical workflows from the perspective of healthcare professionals. Thereby, it will consider patients’ safety, legal and ethical concerns and quality of care. The results will help to understand the organization and thereby improve the performance of health services working with electronic patient records.Trial registrationThe study was registered at the German clinical trials register (DRKS00023343, Pre-Results) on November 17, 2020.

【 授权许可】

CC BY