The influence of emergency department information system (edis) in the quality of health data

Abstract

The undertaking of this study was motivated by the Poor quality of health data in the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS). The study investigated the extent to which the EDIS is adopted among health care workers at the Muhimbili National Hospital – Emergence Medicine Department (MNH – ED), perceptions of EDIS data quality among health care workers at MNH – ED and to measure the performance of using EDIS towards health data quality at MNH. The study used a mixed research approach where both quantitative and qualitative techniques were utilized. Data was collected by the use of questionnaire and In-depth interview. Thus, a total of 220 (92%) out of 238 respondents completed the survey and 6 employees from the emergency medical department were interviewed. The respondents of this study were obtained from Emergency Medical Department at MNH. The findings revealed that, the majority of respondents (95%) were using EDIS in their routine operations but the system has a number of challenges. It is further reported that accuracy of data has significant positive impact on Effective use of EDIS (β = 0.282, P = 0.024). The results indicated that, completeness of data have significant positive impact on Effective use of EDIS (β = 0.426, P = 0.046). Moreover, the results indicated that, consistency of data have significant positive impact on Effective use of EDIS (β = 0.249, P = 0.034). The results indicated that, timeliness of data have significant positive impact on Effective use of EDIS (β = 0.518, P = 0.000). Moreover, effective use of EDIS has a modest positive effect on improved data quality outcomes. This implies that use of EDIS indicators including ease of use had (β= 0.123, p-value=0.014), Suitability for the task had (β=0.360, p=0.003) and user satisfaction had (β=0.32, p= 0.004 which have significant positive impact on outcome of data quality. The study recommends hospitals management in Tanzania and other countries with similar conditions to strictly ensure that EDIS data quality is improved. This can be through timely upgrades when there is any technological advancement, training to fresh users and regular EDIS backup at MNH. The study also recommends to ministry of health to put more emphasis on data quality in the healthcare sector. The quality of data facilitates accurate and evidence-based decision making among both policy makers and executives in planning and delivering high quality healthcare services.