The study sought to investigate the management of medical records for healthcare service at the Victoria Public Hospital in the Eastern Cape Province. The objectives of the study were to describe the present records management practices in Victoria Hospital; find out the existing infrastructure for the management of patient medical records at the Victoria Hospital; determine the compliance of patient medical records management in Victoria Hospital with relevant national legislative and regulatory framework; find out the security of patient medical records at the Victoria Hospital. Quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed. The sample was drawn from the service providers and from the healthcare service users. Questionnaires, interviews and observation were used to collect data. The findings showed that Victoria Hospital uses manual records management system in the creation, maintenance and usage of records. In the findings, there were challenges related to misfiling and missing patient folders which sometimes lead to the creation of new patient folders. Also, the study discovered that the time spent in the retrieval of patient folders could negatively affect the timely delivery of healthcare services. The study recommended the adoption of electronic records management system as most public healthcare institutions in the country are rapidly shifting to electronic records management system. The use of electronic records management system is believed to be efficiently and effectively promoting easy accessibility, retrieval of patient medical records and allows easy communication amongst the healthcare service institutions and healthcare practitioners.

This thesis will examine the manual hospital document retrieval system and electronic document scanning system. From this examination, requirements will be listed for the Administrative Reporting for the Hospital Document Scanning System which will provide better service and reliability than the previous systems. To assure that the requirements can be met, this will be developed into a working system which is named as the Administrative Reporting for the Hospital Document Scanning System(ARHDSS). / Department of Computer Science

A Personal Health Record (PHR) is an electronic record of a patient’s health-related information that is managed by the patient. The patient can give access to other parties, such as healthcare providers and family members, as they see fit. These parties can use the information in emergency situations, in order to help improve the patient’s healthcare. PHRs have an important role to play in ensuring that a patient’s complete health history is available to his healthcare providers at the point of care. This is especially true in South Africa, where the majority of healthcare organizations still rely on paper-based methods of record-keeping. Research indicates that physicians play an important role in encouraging the adoption of PHRs amongst patients. Whilst various studies have focused on the perceptions of South African citizens towards PHRs, to date no research has focused on the perceptions of South African physicians. Considering the importance of physicians in encouraging the adoption of PHRs, the problem being addressed by this research project thus relates to the lack of information relating to the perceptions of South African physicians of PHRs. Physicians with private practices at private hospitals in Port Elizabeth, South Africa were surveyed in order to determine their perceptions towards PHRs. Results indicate perceptions regarding benefits to the physician and the patient, as well as concerns to the physician and the patient. The levels of trust in various potential PHR providers and the potential uses of a PHR for the physician were also explored. The results of the survey were compared with the results of relevant international literature in order to describe the perceptions of physicians towards PHRs.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health highlighted in the 2005-2009/2010 Strategic Plan many challenges. One of the major challenges was an inadequate management information system at Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS). It was further stated that decision-making becomes risky in the absence of reliable and accurate information. EMRS provides an ambulance service to the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal. This research will focus on EMRS in eThekwini District. In order to provide the best possible service to the citizens there has to be effective information management. The questionnaire survey used in this research project attempted to reach a broad cross-section of the various groups of people (management, operations and administrative staff) who take part in information work, and hence develop a broad sense of their perceptions and beliefs about how information is managed and used at eThekwini EMRS. The answering of questions varied between the groups. This showed that managers, operational staff and administrative staff have different perceptions on information management. Some of the recommendations included: EMRS has to adopt information as a strategic resource; information must be used in addressing problem areas; staff must have access to information that EMRS gathers; and further research has to be conducted at EMRS to address the challenges the organisation faces. / Thesis (MPA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

Submitted by Viviane Lima da Cunha (viviane@biblioteca.ufpb.br) on 2015-05-26T12:53:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2980634 bytes, checksum: 4c7ccb2e54be16c1b0bcb01cfa7a50f5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-26T12:53:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 2980634 bytes, checksum: 4c7ccb2e54be16c1b0bcb01cfa7a50f5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-27 / The Patient Safety has been, in the last decades a thematic evidenced in the Brazilian and world scenario. There are cases that refer to bad prescription, errors in medication administration , stress and professional disillusion. Attached to concerns regarding the quality of medical records, Patient Safety becomes a study of high importance for Risk Reduction, both for patients as for professionals and health services. Therefore, this study concerned to better understand the reality of management of records of Alcides Carneiro University Hospital (ACUH) a federal public institution in the city of Campina Grande, Paraíba. The aspirations for improvements in service hospital records, along with initial actions of ACUH Management Risk and Patient Safety Center, were the main indicators for this study to have its start up. The focus of this work was to understand the situation seen as problematic by the institution Hospital Records Division and, through observations and systemic reviews, identify opportunities for improvement. The methodology used was the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), recognized worldwide in the management of public health services, especially in studies carried out in National Health Service (NHS) in Britain. The application of SSM had allowed greater understanding of how the records management is conducted in ACUH, and the main obstacles for attendance to Brazilian national guidelines Risk Management and Patient Safety. In addition to organizational learning, this study led to the construction of a project named the Medical Records Management Improvement Program (MRMIP), which may be applied by the administration of ACUH. / A Segurança do Paciente tem sido, nas últimas décadas, uma temática evidenciada no cenário nacional brasileiro e mundial. São casos que se referem à má prescrição, à administração de medicamentos de forma equivocada, ao estresse e à desilusão profissional. Atrelada à preocupação referente à qualidade dos registros médicos, a Segurança do Paciente é um estudo de suma importância para a Redução de Riscos, tanto para os pacientes quanto para os profissionais e serviços de saúde. Este estudo teve a preocupação de compreender melhor a realidade da gestão de prontuários do Hospital Universitário Alcides Carneiro (HUAC), instituição pública federal da cidade de Campina Grande, na Paraíba. Os anseios por melhorias no serviço de registros hospitalares, aliados às ações iniciais da Gerência de Risco e Núcleo de Segurança do Paciente do HUAC, foram os principais indicadores para que este estudo tivesse início. O foco foi compreender a situação tida como problemática pela Divisão de Registro Hospitalar da instituição e, por meio de observações e avaliações sistêmicas, identificar oportunidades de melhoria. A metodologia utilizada foi a Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), reconhecida mundialmente no âmbito da gestão em serviços de saúde pública, principalmente em estudos realizados pelo National Health Service (NHS), o serviço de saúde pública do Reino Unido. A aplicação da SSM ampliou o entendimento sobre a gestão de prontuários no HUAC, bem como apresentou os principais obstáculos para que sejam atendidas as diretrizes nacionais brasileiras de Gestão de Riscos e Segurança do Paciente. Além do aprendizado organizacional, este estudo propiciou a construção do Programa de Melhorias da Gestão de Prontuários (PMGP), que poderá ser aplicado pela administração do HUAC.

Doctors can experience difficulty in accessing medical information of new patients. One reason for this is that the management of medical records is mostly institution-centred. The lack of access to medical information may negatively affect patients in several ways. These include new medical tests that may need to be carried out at a cost to the patient and doctors prescribing drugs to which the patient is allergic. This research investigates how patients can play an active role in sharing their personal health records (PHRs) with doctors located in geographically separate areas. In order to achieve the goal of this research, existing literature concerning medical health records and standards was reviewed. A literature review of techniques that can be used to ensure privacy of health information was also undertaken. Interview studies were carried out with three medical practices in Port Elizabeth with the aim of contextualising the findings from the literature study. The Design Science Research methodology was used for this research. A Hybrid Model for Managing Personal Health Records in South Africa is proposed. This model allows patients to view their PHRs on their mobile phones and medical practitioners to manage the patients’ PHRs using a web-based application. The patients’ PHR information is stored both on a cloud server and on mobile devices hence the hybrid nature. Two prototypes were developed as a proof of concept; a mobile application for the patients and a web-based application for the medical practitioners. A field study was carried out with the NMMU health services department and 12 participants over a period of two weeks. The results of the field study were highly positive. The successful evaluation of the prototypes provides empirical evidence that the proposed model brings us closer to the realisation of ubiquitous access to PHRS in South Africa.

The purpose of this study was to: (1) identify the sources of job-related stress which create excessive pressures for the directors and faculty of medical record administration and medical record technology programs; (2) identify the strategies that the directors and faculty of medical record administration and medical record technology programs find most helpful in coping with stress; (3) determine the relationship among demographic variables and job-related stressors as perceived by the directors and faculty of medical record administration and medical record technology programs; and (4) determine the difference among the means of five stress factors as perceived by the directors of medical record administration, faculty of medical record administration, directors of medical record technology and faculty of medical record technology programs. Questionnaires were mailed to 403 respondents. The response rate was 81.3%. Within the limitations of this study, the results revealed that "Having insufficient time to keep abreast of current developments in my field"was the highest stressor. The top stress coping strategy was "Social interaction." The relationship between demographic variables and five stress factors of reward and recognition, time constraint, departmental influence, professional identity and student interaction revealed a positive correlation between degree and professional identity factor, and a negative correlation between degree and student interaction factor. The results also indicated a positive correlation between type of program and the factors-time constraint, professional identity and student interaction; a positive correlation between academic rank and the factors--time constraint and student interaction; a positive correlation between teaching responsibilities and time constraint factor; and a positive correlation between marital status and professional identity factor. The directors and faculty of medical record administration perception of time constraint and professional identity factors differed from that of the directors and faculty of medical record technology programs.

No description available.

The historical evolution of South Africa’s health sector, dating back to the 17th century, is significantly different from that of other African countries. Throughout the four centuries of development there have been numerous advances in health policy, legislative instruments and health system progress. Against this background this dissertation critically analysed the management of records in public health care institutions in South Africa. The study did this by addressing three objectives: assess the legislative, policy and regulatory contextual framework of South Africa’s health care system; assess the effectiveness of records management within public health care institutions; and identify appropriate interventions to address the challenges facing records management in the health care system. The study used purposive sampling to identify respondents with diverse expertise in three main sectors: the public sector, the private sector as well as in academic and research institutions. Using interview research technique the study solicited data that was analysed in order to provide a composite picture in addressing the research objectives. The analysis of data revealed three overarching themes. First, there is substantial legislative and regulatory dissonance in the management of health records in the country. While there are extensive legislative, regulatory and policy instruments that could be used to manage records, many lack coherence with records management issues such as records retention. Second, understanding the complex interplay of different legal and regulatory instruments is a critical first step, but it remains the beginning of the process towards building a sophisticated implementation process. For this process to be successful, study respondents argued that records compliance would have to be the backbone of all other compliance processes. Third, while there were substantial areas of weakness in the management of records in South Africa’s public health sector, there have been a number of pockets of excellence. These include the efforts towards complying to access to information legislation by the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development as well as the successful introduction of Enterprise Content Management systems in health care institutions by the Western Cape Department of Health / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

The historical evolution of South Africa’s health sector, dating back to the 17th century, is significantly different from that of other African countries. Throughout the four centuries of development there have been numerous advances in health policy, legislative instruments and health system progress. Against this background this dissertation critically analysed the management of records in public health care institutions in South Africa. The study did this by addressing three objectives: assess the legislative, policy and regulatory contextual framework of South Africa’s health care system; assess the effectiveness of records management within public health care institutions; and identify appropriate interventions to address the challenges facing records management in the health care system. The study used purposive sampling to identify respondents with diverse expertise in three main sectors: the public sector, the private sector as well as in academic and research institutions. Using interview research technique the study solicited data that was analysed in order to provide a composite picture in addressing the research objectives. The analysis of data revealed three overarching themes. First, there is substantial legislative and regulatory dissonance in the management of health records in the country. While there are extensive legislative, regulatory and policy instruments that could be used to manage records, many lack coherence with records management issues such as records retention. Second, understanding the complex interplay of different legal and regulatory instruments is a critical first step, but it remains the beginning of the process towards building a sophisticated implementation process. For this process to be successful, study respondents argued that records compliance would have to be the backbone of all other compliance processes. Third, while there were substantial areas of weakness in the management of records in South Africa’s public health sector, there have been a number of pockets of excellence. These include the efforts towards complying to access to information legislation by the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development as well as the successful introduction of Enterprise Content Management systems in health care institutions by the Western Cape Department of Health / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)