Current Status of Electronic Medical Record Systems in Hospitals and Clinics in Korea

OBJECTIVES: Many healthcare organizations and professionals have had interests in healthcare information and communication technology (ICT). The objective of this study was to investigate the current status of overall healthcare ICT, especially focusing on Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems in Korea. METHODS: This study used a part of the nationwide survey collected for the OECD benchmarking ICT study. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service conducted the survey from November 19, 2013 to January 10, 2014. This study followed the methodological guidelines of the OECD. A total of 2,093 hospitals and clinics, including long-term care hospitals, participated in the survey. Among them, 554 hospitals and 906 clinics were included in this study for the generalization of the results. RESULTS: The adoption rates of EMR systems were 96.3% in hospitals and 95.7% in clinics. Most of the hospitals and clinics had high rates of healthcare information exchange (HIE) within the organization; however, there were extremely low HIE rates among external organizations. Most of the hospitals and clinics had EMR systems with clinical-decision-supporting functionalities. Ninety-six percent of the EMR systems of the hospitals and 89.2% of the clinic systems had checking functions, such as alerts or reminders, on contraindications of drug-drug and drug-age interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Korea has maintained a high healthcare ICT status compared to countries in the European Union. The EMR systems of hospitals and clinics in Korea had sophisticated functionalities; however, their HIE status was extremely low, which indicates the need for healthcare ICT standardization.