PERCEPTIONS OF DENTAL PRACTITIONERS ON THE USE OF DENTAL ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS IN PRIMARY HEALTHCARE CENTERS IN KUWAIT

Abstract

Background: The use of electronic patient records improves healthcare quality for patients and increases efficiency of clinics. The perceptions of clinicians are important for adopting such systems into routine practice. Our aim was to explore the perceptions of dentists in Kuwait about the use of electronic dental records. Methods and findings: For this cross-sectional national survey, 300 self-administered questionnaires were distributed to dentists working at randomly selected primary-health centers in the five healthcare regions of Kuwait over November- December 2016. We received 247 completed questionnaires (response rate 82%), to generate socio-demographic data and Likert-scale responses to 44 statements on the benefits, features and functionality of electronic records, as well as obstacles preventing their use and practitioner resistance. We obtained binary and categorical data for demographic factors and background variables, and ordinal data from the statements. Analysis was by multivariable analysis, Kruskal- Wallis tests, Mann-Whitney tests and Spearman’s correlations. Overall, the participants responded very positively, particularly on issues such as storage of radiographs (85%) and records (89%), sharing patient records with other dentists (96%), and the potential for improving medical histories (98%). The main obstacles to uptake were software/hardware issues (57%) and the need for technical training (55%) and maintenance (65%). There was some regional variation in positive responses. Conclusion: Kuwaiti dentists recognize the need for electronic patient records to optimize the quality of patient care. They generally have positive attitudes towards electronic records, and most agree that accessing and sharing them with other healthcare providers is useful. They identified several obstacles to uptake, such as the need for technical support and training. Our findings indicate the potential for widespread adoption of electronic patient records in Kuwait for improving patient support and healthcare delivery. The only limitations to the study were the failure of some participants to respond to specific questions.

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