The adoption of electronic medical record by physicians A PRISMA-compliant systematic review

Abstract

Background: The electronic medical record (EMR) is considered to be a vital tool of information and communication technology (ICT) to improve the quality of medical care, but the limited adoption of EMR by physicians results in a considerable warning to its successful implementation. The purpose of the present review is to explore and identify the potential barriers perceived by physicians in the adoption of EMR. Methods: The systematic review was carried out based on literature published in 5 databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, and ProQuest from 2014 to 2018, concerning barriers perceived by physicians to the adoption of EMR. Results: The present study incorporates 26 articles based on their appropriateness out of 1354 for the final analysis. Authors explore 25 barriers that appeared 112 times in the literature for the present review; the top 5 frequently mentioned barriers are privacy and security concerns, high start-up cost, workflow changes, system complexity, lack of reliability, and interoperability. Conclusion: The systematic review explores that physicians deal with different barriers as they intend to adopt EMR. The barriers explored in the present review are the potential to play as references for the implementer of the EMR system. Thus an attentive analysis of the definitive condition is needed before relevant intervention is determined as the implementation of EMR must be considered as a behavioral change in medical practice.