Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Skill and Quality Medical Care in Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria

Quality medical care connotes a medical service with inherent ability to meet desired health outcome. Quality medical
care is of concern to everyone. This is because it is important to human welfare and efficiency. The situation in Nigeria’s hospitals
as depicted in literature and observed by many is worrying. The quality of medical care services available in the Federal Medical
Centres (FMCs) in Nigeria is worrisome and of concern to everyone. Empirical evidences in literature have shown that Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) skill has positive impact on several professional output including medical service. It is
believed that ICT proficiency of medical practitioners could contribute to a higher quality of medical care services. This study
therefore examined the influence of ICT skill on the quality of medical care in FMC Owo, Nigeria.
Method: The study is based on post-positivist epistemology. Quantitative research method and survey research design were
adopted. Out of the 95 population of medical doctors, a total of 76 of them, obtained through Krejcie and Morgan sample size
table, were surveyed using convenience sampling technique. The doctors were surveyed using a five scale Likert-like adapted
structured questionnaire research instrument and a 95% return rate was achieved.
Results: The study found that ICT skill positively and significantly influenced quality of medical care with a P value of 0.000 (p<0.05)
in FMC Owo, Nigeria. This shows that there is a positive and significant influence of ICT skill on quality medical care. The quality of
medical care in the hospital is good with an overall mean of 3.35 on the scale while the level of ICT skill among doctors is high with
an overall mean of 3.84.
Conclusion: The study concluded that ICT skill has positive and significant influence on quality of medical care. Therefore, there is
need to sharpen the ICT skill of medical practitioners through government and institutional support towards sustaining and further
improving the present medical care quality.