A Micro-analysis Approach in Understanding Electronic Medical Record Usage in Rural Communities: Comparison of Frequency of Use on Performance Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Main Authors: Acacio-Claro, Paulyn Jean, Estuar, Ma. Regina Justina, Villamor, Dennis Andrew, Bautista, Maria Cristina G, Sugon, Quirino, Jr, Pulmano, Christian E
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2022
• Subjects: ERM usage; process mining; pandemic; usage logs; rural health units; Health Law and Policy; Public Health
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/gsb-pubs/60; https://archium.ateneo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=gsb-pubs
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

In strengthening eHealth in the Philippines to support the universal health care (UHC) law, the scaling up and full adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) systems was strategically scheduled and supposedly completed in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, delayed these strengthening efforts. We wanted to assess the status of EMR adoption in primary clinics of rural health units (RHUs) and understand the frequency of use, particularly during the pandemic. Through analyses of EMR usage logs from selected RHUs in 2020, we estimated frequency of EMR usage based on duration of use and tested if this was influenced by the performing RHU and pandemic event. We also determined the most frequent EMR activities through process maps and tested if there were differences in the conduct of these activities before and during the pandemic. Results showed that EMR use during work hours was significantly dependent on the performing RHU (p