A Case Study to Assess Implementation of Electronic Health Records at Central Flacq Hospital, Mauritius

The challenges of implementing electronic health records (EHRs) have received some attention, but little is known about the process of transitioning from paper-based to electronic files. In this paper, a mixed approach using combined qualitative and quantitative methods is utilized. The authors enrolled nine administrative managers and 87 employees from different backgrounds, all part of a regional hospital at Flacq in Mauritius, from April to May 2011. Employees responded to a survey on various aspects pertaining to their eagerness to accept the shift to electronic health records and their views on the probability of success. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the quantitative results and content analysis was performed on the qualitative data. Nurses performing at middle level agreed that a shift to EHR is positive but felt that it might take a long time to effect the change. With its implementation, they agreed that advantages like up to date information, diminished workload, and cost effectiveness would be easily attained. In contrast, focus groups confirmed that without the collaboration and support of management, implementation of EHR would prove arduous.