The Position of Electronic Health Record in Iran’s Health System; A Document Analysis Study

Background: Electronic health records are considered fundamental technologies in the health system. The implementation of the electronic health record system in Iran faces many implementation limitations. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the position of electronic health records (strengths, challenges ahead, necessary measures, stakeholders and responsible institutions) in the Iranian health system and was conducted in the form of document analysis. Methods: This study was conducted using the document analysis method. After collecting the documents, the following steps were performed: 1) Determining authenticity 2) Determining validity 3) Checking representativeness 4) Checking significance. The sampling method was selective. Every document in the research community that had the keywords electronic health record, electronic medical record, electronic patient record, electronic healthcare record, digital medical record was included in the study. The researcher read the documents several times to familiarize himself with the data. After collecting the data, the findings were extracted through qualitative content analysis. Results: The benefits of electronic health records include access to citizens' health records, reduction of medical errors, financial management, access to services, ease of access to information, effective role in patient treatment, facilitation of education and research, management and supervision. The challenges facing electronic health records were also categorized into structural, process, managerial and legal areas. The necessary measures to launch electronic health records include sending information on services provided through the DATAS platform to the electronic health record system, updating the online database of the country's health insurance beneficiaries free of charge and continuously, and implementing the process of assessing the eligibility for purchasing services. The responsible institutions include the Supreme Health Insurance Council, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, and the Medical System Organization. Conclusion: In order to maximize the benefits of electronic health records, measures such as developing technological infrastructure, training and empowering stakeholders, updating databases, and strengthening cooperation between responsible institutions are essential.