Assessment of the impact of the electronic medical records system on medicines and health supplies management in Masindi District Hospital

Abstract

Effective management of drugs and medical supplies is a critical component of healthcare delivery, influencing patient outcomes and operational efficiency in healthcare facilities. In recent years, the implementation of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems has transformed various aspects of hospital management, including inventory control, prescription accuracy, and overall resource utilization. By examining the integration of digital records into the hospital’s supply chain processes, the research sought to determine whether the adoption of EMR contributed to improved inventory tracking, reduction in stock-outs, and enhanced drug management practices. Through this assessment, the study provides insights into the strengths and challenges of EMR systems in resource-limited settings, offering recommendations for improving healthcare service delivery. The objective of this study was to ascertain the impact of the electronic medical records system on inventory management of medicines and health supplies in Masindi district hospital. This was a cross-sectional study that employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis before and after EMR implementation with qualitative interviews of healthcare staff involved in the management of drugs and supplies. The data obtained was analyzed using Non-parametric methods using STATA to ascertain the impact of EMR system on drug and supplies management. In this study, the ease to use EMR was significantly associated with a reduction of the stockout of critical drugs p-value 0.019**. It was further revealed that the reduction of Human errors by EMR was significantly associated with the reduction on stock out of critical drugs p-value 0.031**. In this study, it was revealed that EMR was significantly associated with a reduction of stock out of significant drugs at Masind hospital p-value 0.029. Respondents further revealed that the training was not sufficient. EMR has been adopted by staff and it has caused a big impact in the management of the inventory at Masindi Hospital. Sometimes EMR system slows down and loses some inventory data entries. EMR use is challenged by the system being slow, power outages and poor interoperability. The EMR user training that was carried out at Masindi hospital was insufficient. EMR software should be routinely upgraded to cater for system internal challenges. Staff should be continuously trained on EMR use to improve on their competence. Masindi hospital should consider buying a power backup to support the EMR servers from load shedding and loss of data