Evaluation of the compliance of private hospitals in Ankara with digital hospital EMRAM standards

Technological developments in the world are advancing rapidly and new technologies are emerging that make our life, work and daily life easier every day. Of course, health systems also take their share from these rapid developments. Concepts such as scarcity of resources in health services, problems encountered in health service delivery, efficiency and effectiveness are among the biggest reasons for the digitalization of health services. One of the biggest examples of this digitalization is digital hospitals. In this context, it is aimed to determine the level of compliance of the private hospitals in Ankara with the digital hospital criteria and the deficiencies of the hospitals for level 7 and to determine whether the hospitals differ in terms of digital hospital standards according to their status (training and research hospital, general hospital). The method of the research is based on the EMRAM criteria published by HIMSS and updated in 2018. The data were obtained face-to-face from the persons responsible for the relevant units of the hospitals (information processing managers, administrative and financial affairs coordinators, members of the board of directors and human resources unit managers). The research population consists of private hospitals operating in Ankara. It was aimed to reach all hospitals without selecting the study sample. However, 17 private hospitals accepted to participate in the study. Microsoft Excel 2016 Office program was used in the analysis of the data obtained within the scope of the research. It is seen that 6 hospitals out of 17 private hospitals participating in the study are at level 0, 1 hospital is at level 1, 3 hospitals are at level 2, and 7 hospitals are at level 3. It was found that no hospital could reach the level 6 and level 7 rating, which is certified by HIMSS and accepted as a digital hospital. As a result of the study, it is seen that there are many deficiencies for the digitalization process in the information systems of private hospitals. The reasons for these shortcomings are thought to be the lack of investment, data protection concerns of health institutions, the user-friendliness of the information technologies used and government policies. The results highlight what areas private hospitals need to improve in order to raise digital hospital levels and policies that can be implemented by the government.