Electronic medical record quality and its impact on user satisfaction - Healthcare providers' point of view

With the increasing mobility of the population, Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) become a promising opportunity for governmental investment to many countries. An EMR project usually involves a huge grant and needs tight control of the output. However, most measuring tools for the quality of paper-based medical records placed a focus on data format and compliance with law which may not be sufficient and adequate enough in measuring the EMR's quality. The purposes of this study are to firstly develop and validate an instrument for measuring the quality of EMRs using 217 physicians and nurses at 25 hospitals and then examine the relationship between the EMR's quality and user satisfaction. Four first-order constructs of EMR quality were identified, namely data content quality, data model quality, information quality, and knowledge quality. Only the quality of data content and information impact user satisfaction significantly. Based on the research findings, implications and limitations are discussed.