Assessment of the knowledge, attitude, and practice of E-health among physicians working in universal health insurance hospitals in Port Said City, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Medicine, Port Said University, Egypt

2 Public health and community medicine department, Faculty of Medicine, Port Said University, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Adoption of electronic health (E-health) is essential for implementing health priorities. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of E-health tools among physicians working in the Universal Health Insurance (UHI) hospitals in Port Said City, Egypt, to underline their predictors and to identify the barriers of implementation.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured pre-designed validated interview questionnaire. The study targeted physicians working in eight Universal Health Insurance (UHI) hospitals. The calculated required sample size was 393 participants. Significance was set at a 95% level of confidence.
Results: The prevalence rates of good knowledge of electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine, mobile health (m-Health) were (47.5%, 28.5, and 21.9%, respectively). Work experience was a common independent significant predictor of knowledge regarding EHRs, telemedicine, and m-Health (AOR (95%CI): 2.2(1.5-3.2), 1.9 (1.3-2.9), 2.2 (1.4-3.4), respectively, and p<0.001 for all of them). Also, practicing E-health and receiving digital training were significant independent predictors regarding EHRs (Adjusted OR (95%CI): 4.1 (2.4-7.1), 1.7 (1.2-2.5), p<0.001). Physicians had an overall positive attitude towards E-health tools (99.6%). Most physicians use EHRs in hospitals (80.6%). The cost of implementation was a potential barrier to adopting E-health tools.
Conclusion: Despite the good attitude towards E-health, most physicians reported poor knowledge of such tools. EHRs were highly adopted in UHI hospital while other tools were not yet adopted. The study highlights the need for specific training programs targeting the weak points in the knowledge and practice of adopted E-health tools.

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