Electronic Medical Record System: Have we Bitten off More Than we Can Chew?

F rst used for management and adm n strat ve purposes, Electron c Med cal Record (EMR) systems are now be ng ncreas ngly employed to collect and synthes ze med cal nformat on. The EMR system offers support n med cal dec s onmak ng, promotes use of gu del nes, ncreases coord nat on between d fferent health care prov ders and s bel eved to mprove overall qual ty of care. The Sultan Qaboos Un vers ty Hosp tal (SQUH) had a funct on ng Healthcare Informat on System (HIS) s nce ts ncept on n 1991, wh ch ma nly funct oned n the Departments of Rad ology, Laboratory Med c ne and Pharmacy. The hosp tal adopted a fully ntegrated EMR system for pat ent care and adm n strat ve purposes n June 2006. As the hosp tal accl mat zes to new technology, the need for assessment of qual ty and mprovement of pat ent care and health del very has been perce ved.