Medical records contain important records about patients, such as the overall content of the patient's disease, the treatment process, and the history of the disease. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically generate, preserve, and share medical r...
Medical records contain important records about patients, such as the overall content of the patient's disease, the treatment process, and the history of the disease. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically generate, preserve, and share medical records through effective management and use them as evidence for improvement of medical services and dispute resolution. In medical institutions, it is stipulated that medical records should be prepared only by medical personnel in charge of medical treatment.
However, it is in an environment in which medical records can be generated or modified even by various workers assisting in the process of performing medical practice. In addition, with the introduction of the electronic medical record system, problems such as exposure or modulation of patient personal information in medical records may occur.
Therefore, this study needs to find out the degree of understanding or recognition of medical records for workers working in medical institutions, and to understand how medical records are managed.
Therefore, this study aims to analyze in-depth the impact of the medical record management system on the quality and efficiency of medical services, identify differences in medical record management perceptions by job group and hospital size, and present specific directions for improving them. To this end, a survey was conducted on 273 medical workers in medical institutions located in Hwasun-gun(county), Jeollanam-do(province), on the perception and status of medical records and medical records management, the degree of medical records management performance of medical institutions, and the recognition and necessity of discarding medical records. In addition, four out of 273 people were selected and interviewed to listen to the status of medical records management by medical institutions and seek directions for medical records management in the future. The results of this study are summarized as follows.
First, the problem with medical record management status is that the electronic medical record (EMR) system has been widely introduced in large hospitals, which has a relatively high level of systematic management and security of records, while small and medium-sized hospitals and clinics still use paper records. This inconsistent management system made it difficult to share information among medical institutions and reduced the reliability and transparency of medical
records. In particular, in the case of small and medium-sized hospitals, problems of poor consistency and accuracy of record management were identified due to the lack of professional management personnel and the lack of introduction of computerized systems. Second, there were differences in the level of awareness and performance of medical records among job groups. Medical personnel were found to be 4.27 times more involved than non-medical personnel in the generation and correction of records, but non-medical personnel showed 1.3 times higher understanding than medical personnel in the perception related to record disposal. These results are related to the fact that doctors and nurses are in charge of creating and modifying records, and administrative staff are in charge of follow-up management such as preservation and disposal of records. This division of roles varies in perspective on medical record management by job group, resulting in poor medical record management system. Third, many medical workers have a low understanding of medical record-related laws, especially medical laws and personal information protection laws, so there were legal risks in the process of managing medical records. As a result, there was a problem that the possibility of personal information leakage increased as clear standards and responsibility obligations were unclear in the process of discarding medical records. Depending on the results of the survey and interview, the improvement (draft) of medical record management is as follows. First, it is the establishment of a legal and institutional foundation. Standardized guidelines such as disposal, permanent preservation medical records, and placement of professional managers in medical record management should be prepared, and these should be reflected in related laws such as the Medical Law and the Personal Information Protection Act so that all medical institutions are obligated to comply. In particular, professional manpower for medical record management should be assigned and their qualification requirements and education system should be legislated.
Second, it is the generalization and standardization of electronic medical records (EMR). Financial and technical support at the government level should be expanded so that small and medium-sized medical institutions can introduce electronic medical record systems. In addition, standardization of the electronic medical record system should be promoted to increase data compatibility among medical institutions. Third, it is the institutionalization of the medical record disposal procedure. The retention period and disposal standards of medical records should be clearly defined, and the execution power should be increased by reflecting them in the internal management guidelines of medical institutions. Responsibility obligations in the disposal process should be clarified, and it should be managed as a digital record to reinforce it as a permanent preservation medical record. Fourth, it is to raise awareness of medical record management. It is
necessary to raise awareness by regularly educating medical workers on legal, ethical, and technical content related to medical record management. Through this, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of management in the medical field and strengthen cooperation between workers. This study suggested specific improvement directions for improving medical service quality by analyzing the problems of medical records and medical record management by job group and hospital size. The improvement of the medical record management system goes beyond just the efficiency of medical administration and plays a key role
in ensuring the quality of medical services and the protection of patients' personal information. This study emphasizes the systematic standard system of medical
record management, the specialization of medical record managers, the generalization of electronic medical records, and the importance of medical record life cycle management, and contributes to policy making and implementation measures in the medical field. If an integrated and sustainable medical record management system is established through cooperation between medical institutions and the government, it is expected to play an important role in strengthening the people's right to health and increasing the reliability of the medical system.