Adoption of Electronic Health Records: A Roadmap for India

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to create a roadmap for the adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR) in India based an analysis of the strategies of other countries and national scenarios of ICT use in India. METHODS: The strategies for adoption of EHR in other countries were analyzed to find the crucial steps taken. Apart from reports collected from stakeholders in the country, the study relied on the experience of the author in handling several e-health projects. RESULTS: It was found that there are four major areas where the countries considered have made substantial efforts: ICT infrastructure, Policy & regulations, Standards & interoperability, and Research, development & education. A set of crucial activities were identified in each area. Based on the analysis, a roadmap is suggested. It includes the creation of a secure health network; health information exchange; and the use of open-source software, a national health policy, privacy laws, an agency for health IT standards, R&D, human resource development, etc. CONCLUSIONS: Although some steps have been initiated, several new steps need to be taken up for the successful adoption of EHR. It requires a coordinated effort from all the stakeholders.