Perceptions of healthcare professionals about the adoption and use of EHR in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: a systematic review

Introduction: Electronic health records (EHRs) can improve the quality and safety of care. However, the adoption and use of the EHR is influenced by several factors, including users' perception.

Objectives: To undertake a systematic review of the literature to understand healthcare professionals' perceptions about the adoption and use of EHRs in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in order to influence the implementation strategies, training programme and policy development in the GCC region.

Method: A systematic literature search was undertaken on seven online databases to identify articles published between January 2006 and December 2017 examining healthcare professionals' perception towards the adoption and use of EHR in the Gulf context.

Results: The fourteen articles included in this review identified both positive and negative perceptions of the role of EHR in healthcare. The positive perceptions included EHR benefits, such as improvements to work efficiency, quality of care, communication and access to patient data. Conversely, the negative perceptions were associated with challenges or risks of adopting an EHR, such as disruption of provider-patient communication, privacy and security concerns and high initial costs. The perceptions were influenced by personal factors (eg, age, occupation and computer literacy) and system factors (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use).

Conclusion: Positive perceptions of EHRs by the healthcare professionals could facilitate the adoption of this technology in the Gulf region, particularly when barriers are addressed early. Negative perceptions may inform change management strategies during adoption and implementation. The perceptions should be further evaluated from a technology acceptance perspective.