Healthc Inform Res.  2015 Oct;21(4):292-298. 10.4258/hir.2015.21.4.292.

Early Experiences with Mobile Electronic Health Records Application in a Tertiary Hospital in Korea

• Choi W
• Park M
• Hong E
• Kim S
• Ahn R
• Hong J
• Song S
• Kim T
• Kim J
• Yeo S

• KMID: 2166879
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2015.21.4.292

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Recent advances in mobile technology have opened up possibilities to provide strongly integrated mobile-based services in healthcare and telemedicine. Although the number of mobile Electronic Health Record (EHR) applications is large and growing, there is a paucity of evidence demonstrating the usage patterns of these mobile applications by healthcare providers. This study aimed to illustrate the deployment process for an integrated mobile EHR application and to analyze usage patterns after provision of the mobile EHR service.
METHODS
We developed an integrated mobile application that aimed to enhance the mobility of healthcare providers by improving access to patient- and hospital-related information during their daily medical activities. The study included mobile EHR users who accessed patient healthcare records between May 2013 and May 2014. We performed a data analysis using a web server log file analyzer from the integrated EHR system. Cluster analysis was applied to longitudinal user data based on their application usage pattern.
RESULTS
The mobile EHR service named M-UMIS has been in service since May 2013. Every healthcare provider in the hospital could access the mobile EHR service and view the medical charts of their patients. The frequency of using services and network packet transmission on the M-UMIS increased gradually during the study period. The most frequently accessed service in the menu was the patient list.
CONCLUSIONS
A better understanding regarding the adoption of mobile EHR applications by healthcare providers in patient-centered care provides useful information to guide the design and implementation of future applications.

Keyword

Medical Informatics Applications; Electronic Health Records; Mobile Applications; Telemedicine; Wireless Technology

MeSH Terms

Delivery of Health Care
Electronic Health Records*
Health Personnel
Humans
Korea*
Medical Informatics Applications
Mobile Applications
Patient-Centered Care
Statistics as Topic
Telemedicine
Tertiary Care Centers*
Wireless Technology

Figure

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  Figure 1 System architecture of mobile Ulsan University Hospital Medical Information System (M-UMIS). DMZ: demilitarized zone, PoE: power over ethernet, AP: access point, DB: database, LAN: local area network.

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  Figure 2 Main component of mobile Ulsan University Hospital Medical Information System (M-UMIS) service. LIS: laboratory information system, PACS: picture archiving and communication system, EMR: electronic medical record.

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  Figure 3 Basic screenshot of mobile Ulsan University Hospital Medical Information System (M-UMIS) application. The application includes patient record and work-related information about patient health record book, test results, drug information, hospital groupware.

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  Figure 4 Service user type of accessing mobile Ulsan University Hospital Medical Information System (M-UMIS).

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  Figure 5 Service menu viewing among users who accessed mobile Ulsan University Hospital Medical Information System (M-UMIS).

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  Figure 6 Mobile application usage trend between May 2013 and May 2014.

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