Organisations have spent big biscuits on electronic medical records, but do they actually save time and make life easier? Maybe not yet, a new survey reveals.
Australian hospitals and healthcare organisations are still grappling with clunky systems that don’t talk to each other. Despite the challenges, though, most would still recommend their electronic medical records system.
So say 200 clinicians, health IT professionals, and leaders from across the region, who were surveyed for the HIMSS EMR Experience in Asia-Pacific 2025 Report. They were asked about their experiences with EMR systems and what can impact EMR success has in their organisation.
One of the key themes to come out of the report was interoperability and the complexities around healthcare data exchange, particularly integrating EMRs with ancillary or other EMR systems.
For example, one practicing doctor from a general hospital in Australia said: “The system is not fully integrated. Thus, some results still have to come in PDF or text format, making data not discrete.”
A leadership and administrative officer from a general hospital in Australia wrote: “Medical imaging is difficult, as directly uploading into the chart can cause the system to freeze due to image sizes. Images must be scanned in, causing upload delays.”
Other challenges specific to Australia include needing to follow state guidelines or requiring state consultation for specific implementations.
When questioned about implementing care coordination, one Australian IT professional from an Australian general hospital said:
“Our workflows are implemented in care plans. Not all of it can match a paper workflow, so some change management is required. Balancing this between our agencies’ protocols and the state’s recommendations can have its own barriers.”
Related
The survey highlighted how important user experience and reliable software is for effective EMR adoption rates, particularly for clinicians.
When questioned about clinical encounter documentation, one Australian doctor was complimentary, saying:
“The system makes it easy to type process notes, read notes, and setup templates.”
However, another clinician-informatician highlighted how difficult system navigation can be:
“The system is also complex if not used frequently.”
An inability to customise, time-consuming data entry, and features they don’t use were also flagged as some other EMR issues.
In order to improve experience with EMR, training and support are key. Just 58% of respondents said their training fully prepared them to use their EMRs.
In-person training was the preferred option, with additional implementation support to improve engagement among healthcare professionals.
Ultimately, most respondents said they’d still recommend their EMR systems to their peers. When it all works, they saw the benefits of improved patient care, system integration and improved medical information sharing.
As one leadership and admin personnel from an Australian hospital wrote:
“It is great for emergency departments and inpatients, with room for improvement in all areas and specialist clinics. The system may not be 100% the best, but it is still better than paper.”
Read the full report here.
