Electronic Health Records and Healthcare Service Delivery in Government Hospitals in Southern Cross River State, Nigeria

The study sought to investigate the influence of electronic health records on healthcare service delivery in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State, by adopting a survey design using a proportionate random sampling technique. The population of the study comprised all 656 medical personnel (medical doctors, nurses, hospital administrative staff) and 3512 in- patients in all state-owned hospitals in Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State. Population t-test statistics were used to tests the first hypothesis which sought to investigate whether or not the extent of healthcare service delivery in the Southern Senatorial District is significantly high. Two sub-variables were identified and tested against the dependent variable, healthcare service delivery, in the study area. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) was used to summarize the data that was generated from the questionnaire, while, One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. A post hoc multiple comparison test was applied using the Fisher’s (LSD) multiple comparison test to determine the source and direction of significant difference among three levels of influence (low, moderate or high). Findings from the study showed that the extent of healthcare service delivery was not significantly high in the Southern Senatorial District of Cross River State. However, the study revealed that the various sub-components of electronic healthcare records exert a significant influence on healthcare service delivery, and there are significant differences among the various groups, however, the difference was found to be greater between the low and high groups for all the variables tested in the study. It is concluded that the low level of healthcare service delivery in the Southern Senatorial District of the state can be associated with low utilization of electronic records. This has a negative impact on healthcare service delivery in the study area. Amidst the challenges of electronic records, political and bureaucratic constraints also account for inadequate healthcare service delivery in state-owned hospitals. It is recommended that if health records are fully implemented through the electronic system, this could serve as reliable and useful information for continuing patient care; protection of the legal interest of the patients, the physician and the hospital; and meet requirements for acceptable standard and researches for improved healthcare service delivery.