A Novel Method for Objective Assessment of EMR Adoption Among Healthcare Professionals

Introduction The adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) by healthcare professionals is central to healthcare’s digital transformation. Despite its importance, there remains no standardized, objective approach to assess EMR adoption needs, hindering the design and execution of informed improvement measures. We demonstrate a method based on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) framework which offers a robust, objective scoring method to evaluate adoption to EMR. Based on the score (called CLEAR, Clinic EMR Adoption Response score), remedial measures are suggested to improve adoption. A working prototype of a tool based on the above method was built and a simulation was carried out to demonstrate its practical application. Methods This report is a description of the idea, methodology and tool based on the KAP framework for an objective assessment of adoption to EMR in healthcare institutions. Conclusions This report demonstrates the applicability of a method for assessing medical personnel adoption to EMR. It not only pinpoints the problem areas in adoption, but also offers recommendations to tackle them. Serving as a periodic assessment mechanism for improving adoption, it can be developed into a deployable solution, as evident from the working prototype. Overall, this innovation has the potential to provide an objective means to evaluate EMR adoption across healthcare settings, enabling targeted interventions and continuous improvement.