Intention to use electronic medical records among physicians at a private clinic in Peru

Intención de uso de la historia clínica electrónica en médicos de una clínica privada en el Perú

Abstract

Objective: To describe physicians’ perceptions of their intention to use the electronic health record (EHR) and to identify the associated sociodemographic, professional, and work-related characteristics in a private clinic in the Peruvian highlands. Materials and Methods: descriptive cross-sectional observational study that applied the instrument “Questionnaire on the determining factors of the use of the digital medical history of Quebec (HCQ) in clinical decision making”, this was translated and modified for a national context, achieving a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.92. The instrument assessed 11 dimensions related to the perception and intention to use the EHR through 36 items rated on a seven-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and nonparametric inferential statistics (Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis H tests) with Jamovi version 2.3.28, applying a significance level of 0.05. Results: In the sample of 61 physicians, the mean of the average score on the perception of use of the EHR was 5.9 ± 0.6, the median was 6.1. The dimensions of the perception of intention to use EHR show that the demonstrability of results and the professional norm had a median of 7. Conclusion: Physicians showed a positive perception toward the EHR. Age was the main variable associated with these perceptions, possibly reflecting technological gaps. These findings suggest that training at the time of EHR implementation should be tailored to the staff’s age group. Keywords: Electronic Health Record; Perception; Physician; Medical Informatics; Surveys and Questionnaires (Source: MeSH, NLM).