Electronic Medical Record Use and Challenge Comparison In Developing Countries and Rural U.S. Regions

Electronic medical record (EMR) systems have the ability to improve clinical work by providing the right details about the right people at the right time, allowing use of clinical and personnel resources efficiently. In public health, this is significant because electronic medical records have contributed to improved health outcomes and a decline in medical errors. This is specifically important in low resource settings where there is also a need for reliable data to support public health and local support organizations. Developing countries, such as Morocco and Kenya, face many obstacles to implement and use electronic medical records within their healthcare spaces. Rural hospitals in the U.S. and developing countries face some of the same challenges implementing and using EMR as well as their own set of unique challenges. Rural U.S. cities and developing countries are both considered resource constrained, however their challenges in implementing electronic medical records have not been formally compared. Overall, they face very similar challenges regarding EMR implementation and usage, specifically financial and human capital constraints