A framework for implementation of e-health in Kenya public hospitals
Date
2015
Authors
Middii Edwin Odhiambo
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
E-health has fundamentally shifted the way patients’ information is accessed and shared
across health system. This advancement has greatly improved healthcare which is associated
with the mission critical services that are connected with the well being of life, by providing
comprehensive, reliable, accessible and timely patient information for evidence based
decision to the healthcare providers. However, there are still a problem of gaps and
weaknesses in the existing e-health frameworks. The main purpose of the research was to
explore on ways in which e-health can be successfully be implemented. The research adopted
qualitative and quantitative research methodology to investigate and come up with a
framework for the implementation of e-health in public hospitals. The research instruments
used were survey questionnaires, interviews. The research identifies the benefits of
implementing e-health as; Enhanced health services availability and access, Improved health
quality, safety and outcomes, Increased service efficiency, productivity and cost
effectiveness, Improved teaching methods facilitated by e-learning system, Knowledge
sharing by practitioners, Improved decision making and Reduced healthcare cost. The
challenges encountered in E-health implementation are; E-health standards, ICT capacity, Elegislation,
e-health infrastructure, Security and privacy issues and technical organization.
The research found out that there are various areas and components that should be considered
in order to successfully implement and scale up e-health uptake in the public hospitals. The
areas and components include; Education/awareness, infrastructure, stakeholders, form of ehealth
to be implemented, challenges in e-health implementation and uses of e-health. These
findings were used to build a framework for implementation of e-health in Kenya public
hospital. The framework is composed of the mentioned components and areas. The research
therefore, will enhance the quick implementation and uptake of e-health in public hospitals.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Science in Information Technology
Keywords
Public hospitals, e-health, implementation, Kenya, information communication technology and infrastructure