Exploring the Digitalization of Hospitals Upon the EMRAM Model: The Case of Türkiye

Scarcity of resources, difficulties in service delivery, and demand for efficiency in healthcare services may be counted among the most prominent reasons for the digitalization of healthcare services, ultimately leading to the emergence of digital hospitals. In this sense, the present study attempted to reveal to what extent Ankara-based private hospitals comply with digital maturity criteria and the deficiencies of these hospitals for the Stage 7 digital excellence benchmark. While the target population consisted of Ankara-based private hospitals, we aimed to reach all hospitals within the population, and the officials of 17 hospitals agreed to participate in the study. The methodology of the research relies on the updated EMRAM criteria by HIMSS. We collected the data face-to-face from the authorized staff in the hospitals (e.g., information processing managers). The data were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel 2016 Office program. Based on the EMRAM criteria, we found out that six out of 17 participating hospitals could only be rated as Stage 0, one as Stage 1, three as Stage 2, and seven as Stage 3. However, no hospital could attain Stage 6 and Stage 7 achievements, the top levels for being accredited as a “digital hospital” by HIMSS. Overall, we can confidently assert that the information systems of the participating hospitals bear too many deficiencies to be accepted as digitalized. Such shortcomings may stem from the lack of investment, the hospitals’ concerns for data protection, and the lack of user-friendly information technologies in these hospitals.