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Cited by 5Electronic Health Records SystemsMedical Coding and Health InformationNursing Diagnosis and Documentation

Impact of electronic medical records on healthcare delivery in Nigeria: A review

Open access
Olukorode, Sarah Oreoluwa, Adedeji, Oluwakorede Joshua, Adetokun, Adetayo, Abioye, Ajibola Ibraheem·2024·PLOS Digital Health
DOI 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000420PMC PMC11398640

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Abstract

Electronic medical records (EMRs) have great potential to improve healthcare processes and outcomes. They are increasingly available in Nigeria, as in many developing countries. The impact of their introduction has not been well studied. We sought to synthesize the evidence from primary studies of the effect of EMRs on data quality, patient-relevant outcomes and patient satisfaction. We identified and examined five original research articles published up to May 2023 in the following medical literature databases: PUBMED/Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, African Journals Online and Google Scholar. Four studies examined the influence of the introduction of or improvements in the EMR on data collection and documentation. The pooled percentage difference in data quality after introducing or improving the EMR was 142% (95% CI: 82% to 203%, p- value < 0.001). There was limited heterogeneity in the estimates (I 2 = 0%, p- heterogeneity = 0.93) and no evidence suggestive of publication bias. The 5 th study assessed patient satisfaction with pharmacy services following the introduction of the EMR but neither had a comparison group nor assessed patient satisfaction before EMR was introduced. We conclude that the introduction of EMR in Nigerian healthcare facilities meaningfully increased the quality of the data.

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  • Interoperability of digital records among Nigerian institutions is extremely low, with estimates showing 12-15% of facilities can exchange patient data seamlessly.

    “Interoperability of digital records among institutions is also extremely low with estimates showing that between 12-15% of facilities can exchange patient data seamlessly [5, 15, 18, 19].”

    From Cloud-based Electronic Health Records (EHR) Adoption Rate in Nigeria: Barriers and Performance Bottlenecks (2026) · cites this paper as [19]

    The Discussion describes technical challenges to EMR adoption in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Results describe a data-exchange system implemented at 30 Nigerian treatment facilities. Neither passage estimates how many Nigerian facilities can exchange patient data seamlessly. Searches for the 12–15% figure and for interoperability between facilities found no supporting passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.72)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Olukorode, S. O., Adedeji, O. J., Adetokun, A., & Abioye, A. I.
Affiliations
  • University of Ilorin (NG)
  • University of Maiduguri (NG)
Corresponding author
Adedeji, Oluwakorede Joshua
ORCID
Venue
PLOS Digital Health
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2024-09-13
Volume
3
Issue
9
Pages
e0000420
ISSN
2767-3170 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pdig.0000420
PMC
PMC11398640
OpenAlex
W4402512422
Cited by
5
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1
FWCI
1.53
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLOS Digital Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • medRxiv (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Electronic Health Records Systems
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Medical Coding and Health Information
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Research and Theory › Nursing Diagnosis and Documentation
Keywords
electronic health records, health care delivery, data quality, patient satisfaction, patient-relevant outcomes, clinical documentation, pharmaceutical care, Nigeria, developing countries

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