THE IMPACT OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON PATIENT DATA MANAGEMENT AMONG TERTIARY HOSPITALS IN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Patient data management connote a range of activities including accurate data collection, storage and organization, data security and confidentiality, data accessibility to authorized users, data quality assurance, as well as data back-up and recovery. All these are critical to quality healthcare services in the hospital. However, healthcare facilities continue to experience systemic weaknesses in managing patient information, including incomplete records, data duplication, delayed retrieval, and poor interoperability across departments. These challenges adversely affect clinical decision-making and quality of healthcare services directly. An identified remedy to this challenge in literature, is the use of Health Information Technology (HIT). This study examined the impact of Health Information Technology (HIT) on patient data management in tertiary hospitals of Kogi State, Nigeria. A survey design was employed targeting 321 healthcare professionals across the three tertiary hospitals in Kogi State of Nigeria. An adapted structured questionnaire was used to survey the 321 respondents using proportionate and simple random sampling techniques. Validity and reliability of the instrument was adequate as the constructs returned an Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values greater than 0.5 and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the questionnaire yielded a value of 0.82, indicating good internal consistency and reliability of the instrument. A total of 319 valid questionnaires were returned and fit for data analysis constituting 99% return rate. Health Information Technology positively and significantly influenced patient data management with a P value of 0.000. Relatively, Health Information Technology positively and significantly influenced data accuracy (P=0.000), security & confidentiality of patient data (P=0.000), and completeness & efficiency of patient data (P=0.000) However, it does not have significant positive influence on accessibility & timely retrieval of patient data (P=0.16). The study concluded that Health Information Technology contributes to the quality of patient data management in tertiary hospitals of Kogi State. It demonstrated a positive and significant influence of the independent variable (Health Information Technology) on the dependent variable (quality of patient data management) in tertiary hospitals of Kogi State independently and jointly. Hence, it was recommended that the Federal Ministry of Health and the Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) of the hospitals should sustain the use of HIT in the hospitals by ensuring necessary logistic and administrative support needed for the use of HIT