Title: Barriers and Success factors in adoption of EMR in Indian Hospitals

Dr A Thanga Prabhu

Abstract:
Adoption of Electronic Medical Records has improved the quality of care provided by hospital in
multiple ways ranging from easy access and management of patient information to clinical
decision support. Research has clearly pointed out the various benefits of EMR. But, hospitals
have faced a lot of barriers in adoption and implementation, which have created a gap between
espoused purposes and the actualized implementation. This paper intends to analyze the
adoption process from an organizational goals perspective through a case-based approach,
understanding the current scenario of hospitals in India, who have adopted EMR. In-depth
interviews of vendors, doctors, nurses, hospital administration, and system consultants, as well
as on-site analysis will be carried out to understand the barriers and success factors. Five
different levels of organizational goals have been identified, which will fit in an Indian context.
The design of technology, implementation methodology, pre-requisite infrastructure and other
criteria for choosing the relevant organizational goals, have to be designed for each level. The
framework, hence developed, can be employed by hospitals to solve the issues in the EMR
system being faced currently as well as by hospitals planning to adopt EMR.