assessing the management of medical records in public hospitals a case of moi teaching and referral hospital

Description

Background: Medical Records management has become an integral activity of the hospital management. The department provides multiple benefits not only to the patients but also to running a hospital efficiently. A medical record system must be organized to render service to the patient, the medical records staff, the hospital administration, and society (Vision 2020 e-resource team, 2012). Study objective: The aim of this research was to investigate on the management of medical records in Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital among health records and information staff. The study specifically was concerned with how medical records were generated, handled and stored at the hospital. Methodology: A cross sectional study design was used in the study. The research instrument in the study was a questionnaire divided into two sections. The first section of the questions collected the demographic variables namely; gender, age and level of education. The remaining sections of the questionnaire consisted of open and closed structured statements. Results: The study established that most of the procedures for managing medical records were in place apart from the retention and disposal policy. Chi-square results (χ2 = 17.9; df = 4; p < 0.01) indicated that there was an association between professional qualification and the measures taken to handle medical records.