An exploration of the effect of age, experience and training on the EHR role in reducing medical errors: perceptions of health professionals

Introduction: The demand for quality health services has increased tremendously over the years. The government has been under intense pressure to increase the level of efficiency in service delivery. However, this pressure on health professionals has resulted in numerous medical errors.

Aim/Objectives: The aim of this study was to probe the effect of age (years of working), experience (use) and training of healthcare professionals on the role of electronic health records (EHR) in reducing medical errors.

Method: An online questionnaire was used by professionals working in primary healthcare centres in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.

Results: There were 1127 respondents particularly younger and older professionals (years of working as health professionals) perceived that EHR could have an important role in reducing medical errors. Respondents aged 20–30 years of working in health profession had the highest (73.3%) level of satisfaction in using EHR to reduce medical errors. The 30–40 years (61.7%) experienced group (EHR use) agreed that experience with the EHR use in medical field has a significant impact in reduction of medical errors, followed by those 20-30 years of experience. Similarly, 63.3% of the participants agreed that training in EHR usage in medical practice has a major impact in reduction of medical errors and its impacts is evenly distributed among all the health professionals.

Conclusion: Age, experience and training are statistically significant in influencing the attitude of healthcare professionals towards the adoption of electronic health records in reducing medical errors.