Barriers and facilitators to using electronic healthcare records in Jordanian hospitals from the nurses’ perspective: A national survey

Background: Jordan is currently taking significant steps to implement electronic healthcare records (EHRs) in hospitals. Purpose: To explore Jordanian nurses’ views on the factors which act as barriers or facilitators to implementing EHRs in the country’s hospitals. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used to obtain a sample of nurses working in Jordanian hospitals. The study utilized a tool used by the American Hospital Association. Results: The final sample consisted of 2,793 nurses from 26 hospitals. 62.4% of these were working in governmental hospitals, 58.9% were female, and the mean age of the nurses was 30.3 years (SD = 6.2). Incentives to purchase EHRs, the availability of technical assistance, and additional reimbursement for the use of EHRs were the most common facilitating factors identified, while the economic burden of purchasing EHRs, a lack of information technology staff, and disruption to clinical care were the most common barriers. Conclusion: Future projects for implementing EHR systems in Jordan should consider the facilitators and barriers identified.