Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Healthcare in Health Centers in the West Bank - Palestine

Information and communication technology (ICT) is arguably the most rapidly growing segment of the world ecosystem, and it plays a major role in most of our activities, either in the work place, business, personal life …etc. One of the great benefits might be gained from ICT is improving efficiency and quality of healthcare service. This research aimed to explore the benefits which can be gained from involving ICT in healthcare sector. Furthermore, this research aimed to assess the impact of ICT on healthcare from perspectives of health workers who work in Palestinian health centers. To gain the research purpose, the researcher developed a questionnaire based on the available literature and related studies, then the researcher distributed this questionnaire on a sample of health workers in health centers. The methodology used in this research was an analytical descriptive method depending on two basic types of data (primary & secondary); primary data which obtained from distributing the questionnaire on the research sample, and the secondary which was from the literature review. To analyze the primary data and get the research results, the researcher used SPSS software version 19. This research selected the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system as a tool of ICT to be assessed in Palestine. The main variables which were directly assessed in this research are (Time, Cost, Effort, and Safety). Results of the research showed that there is highly approval degree among the research respondents about the impact of EHR on healthcare by saving time, effort, cost, and improving safety. Depending on the research results and findings, the researcher developed a proposed model that explains the impact of EHR on healthcare. The researcher sees that the proposed model can be helpful in future researches that aim to evaluate or assess HIS such as EHR or any other tools of ICT in healthcare service. The model also gives the reader a quick understanding about the impact of EHR on healthcare. As a final result of this research, the researcher found that implementing and using an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system in health centers can affect the healthcare service positively by the following benefits. • Saving in Time, Effort, and Cost. • Improving patient safety and quality of care. • Supporting Decisions. • Increasing efficiency. • Increasing patient and health workers satisfaction. • Improving health center image. By the end of the research, the researcher set some recommendations to Palestine ministry of health and all of health centers in Palestine, and emphasized on the importance of increasing the adoption level of EHR and other ICT tools in their centers and putting them in an integrated model. It is also recommended to increase the training and educational programs in ICT for health workers. Finally the researcher recommended that other researchers conduct further studies about the ICT in healthcare.