ReviewJMIR human factors2019
The Usability of Electronic Medical Record Systems Implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature Review of the Evidence.
Review in JMIR human factors, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Usability evaluation methods for hospital information systems: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review of applied usability metrics within usability evaluation methods for hospital electronic healthcare record systems: Metrics and Evaluation Methods for eHealth Systems.Journal of evaluation in clinical practice · 2021Pooled it
- Physicians' Perceptions of, and Satisfaction with, Electronic Medical Record Systems in St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Evaluation of care and clinical outcomes after the implementation of an electronic medical record system for type 1 diabetes management in Rwanda.Global health action · 2025Article
- Assessing the interdependency among effectiveness, satisfaction and efficient use of the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) by health professionals in Ghana.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- The Development of an Electronic Medical Record System to Improve Quality of Care for Individuals With Type 1 Diabetes in Rwanda: Qualitative Study.JMIR diabetes · 2024Article
- Usability evaluation of electronic health records at the trauma and emergency directorates at the Komfo Anokye teaching hospital in the Ashanti region of Ghana.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2024Article
- Remote Symptom Monitoring to Enhance the Delivery of Palliative Cancer Care in Low-Resource Settings: Emerging Approaches from Africa.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Adoption of Electronic Medical Records for Chronic Disease Care in Kenyan Refugee Camps: Quantitative and Qualitative Prospective Evaluation.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Article
- Assessing the efficient use of the lightwave health information management system for health service delivery in Ghana.BMJ health & care informatics · 2023Article
- User Satisfaction of Using Electronic Medical Record System and Its Associated Factors among Healthcare Professionals in Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study.BioMed research international · 2023Article
- An Assessment of Success Factors and Challenges in Implementation of Electronic Medical Record System in Referral Hospital in Northern Tanzania.The East African health research journal · 2023Article
- Digitalization of routine health information systems: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2022Observational
- Saving Time for Patient Care by Optimizing Physician Note Templates: A Pilot Study.Frontiers in digital health · 2021Article
- Lessons learned from the development and implementation of an electronic paediatric emergency and acute care database in Lilongwe, Malawi.BMJ global health · 2020Review
- Data for tracking SDGs: challenges in capturing neonatal data from hospitals in Kenya.BMJ global health · 2020Review
- Construction of an exchange interface for the transmission of laboratory results: a case of the National Tuberculosis Center.Online journal of public health informatics · 2019Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundElectronic medical record (EMR) systems hold the exciting promise of accurate, real-time access to patient health care data and great potential to improve the quality of patient care through decision support to clinicians. This review evaluated the usability of EMR systems implemented in sub-Saharan Africa based on a usability evaluation criterion developed by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
objectiveThis review aimed to evaluate EMR system implementations in sub-Saharan Africa against a well-defined evaluation methodology and assess their usability based on a defined set of metrics. In addition, the review aimed to identify the extent to which usability has been an enabling or hindering factor in the implementation of EMR systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
methodsFive key metrics for evaluating EMR system usability were developed based on the methodology proposed by HIMSS. These were efficiency, effectiveness, ease of learning, cognitive load, and user satisfaction. A 5-point rating system was developed for the review. EMR systems in 19 reviewed publications were scored based on this rating system. It awarded 5 points per metric to any EMR system that was identified as excellent, 4 points for good, 3 points for fair, 2 points for poor, and 1 point for bad. In addition, each of the 5 key metrics carried a maximum weighted score of 20. The percentage scores for each metric were then computed from the weighted scores from which the final overall usability score was derived.
resultsIn possibly contributing to the usability of implemented EMR systems, ease of learning obtained the highest percentage score of 71% (SD 1.09) followed by cognitive load in second place with a score of 68% (SD 1.62). Effectiveness followed closely in third place at 67% (SD 1.47) and efficiency was in fourth place at 64% (SD 1.04). User satisfaction came in last at 63% (SD 1.70). The overall usability score for all systems was calculated to be 66%.
conclusionsThe usability of EMR systems implemented in sub-Saharan Africa has been good with ease of learning possibly being the biggest positive contributor to this rating. Cognitive load and effectiveness have also possibly positively influenced the usability of EMR systems, whereas efficiency and user satisfaction have perhaps contributed least to positively influencing EMR system usability.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.