EMR use reported by 88% of staff at one Addis Ababa hospital

Electronic medical record systems were used by 88.0% of health professionals participating in an institution-based cross-sectional study at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The survey was conducted from March 10 to 30, 2025, and included 410 of 422 selected professionals, a response rate of 97.2%. Multivariable analysis identified good knowledge, favorable attitudes, more than two years of experience, departmental enforcement, part-time employment in a private hospital and male sex as factors associated with utilization. These were statistical associations at one hospital, not proof that the characteristics caused staff to use electronic records.

Researchers used simple random sampling with proportional allocation by profession to select health professionals for the study. A pretested structured questionnaire, administered through Kobo Toolbox, collected the data. The researchers entered responses into EpiData version 4.6 and analyzed them with SPSS version 25. They used bivariable logistic regression to identify candidate variables for the multivariable model, retaining variables with p-values below 0.25, and treated p-values below 0.05 as statistically significant. The study therefore measured existing use and examined factors statistically associated with it at a single specialized hospital.

The largest adjusted associations involved experience and knowledge of the electronic medical record system. Professionals with more than two years of experience using it had 3.32 times the adjusted odds of utilization, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.59–6.92. Good knowledge was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of 3.26 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.05–10.13. Favorable attitudes were also associated with higher adjusted odds of use, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.21 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.05–4.68. The wide confidence interval for the knowledge estimate indicates greater uncertainty around that estimate than around the estimates for experience and attitudes.

Workplace and employment characteristics showed similar associations. Departmental enforcement of electronic medical record use was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.05 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.04–4.04. Part-time employment in a private hospital was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.31 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.03–5.18. Male sex was associated with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.25 and a 95% confidence interval of 1.13–4.51. The analysis does not establish why these factors were associated with utilization, and the findings should not be interpreted as evidence that any individual or institutional characteristic directly produces greater electronic record use.

The findings offer a hospital-level snapshot of a digital health system already used by a large majority of surveyed professionals while identifying several correlates of adoption. The authors concluded that continuous training, technical support and institutional enforcement may further improve utilization, but those measures were not evaluated as interventions in this study. Because the research was cross-sectional, it could not establish the order in which knowledge, attitudes, experience or enforcement developed. Its restriction to one specialized hospital also limits generalization to other Ethiopian facilities. Although 88.0% utilization was high among the participating professionals, the study assessed self-reported utilization through a structured questionnaire rather than measuring the completeness, accuracy or clinical effect of electronic records. No direct improvement in healthcare quality, continuity, efficiency or patient safety was tested or demonstrated.

Subject of Research: Electronic medical record utilization and associated factors among health professionals at a specialized hospital in Addis Ababa

Article Title: Electronic Medical Record System utilization and associated factors among health professionals in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Article References: Elias, M., Melaku, B., & Tadele, A. (2026). Electronic Medical Record System utilization and associated factors among health professionals in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15554-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15554-3

Keywords: electronic medical records, health informatics, digital health, hospital technology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, health professionals, cross-sectional study, health services research, Electronic, Medical, Record