Examining doctors’ business analytics capabilities in using the electronic medical record system for decision-making effectiveness in intensive care units: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background Advancements in electronic medical record (EMR) systems raise the demand for doctors’ digital and analytical skills to process large-scale healthcare data for evidence-based decisions. The present challenge arises with the need to understand how doctors can develop business analytics capabilities using the EMR system for decision-making from an end user’s perspective. Aim Integrating the technology acceptance model and the business analytics model for healthcare, this study examines how individual doctors’ technology perceptions of using an EMR system influence their ability to develop business analytics capabilities for making effective healthcare decisions in intensive care units (ICUs). The research questions are: How do doctors’ perceptions of using an EMR system influence their ability to develop business analytics capabilities? and How do doctors’ business analytics capabilities affect the effectiveness of their healthcare decisions? This study focuses on the context of using the EMR system as a business analytics-enabled architecture rather than a general information system. Methods We surveyed a final sample of 130 ICU doctors from public tertiary hospitals in Malaysia, a developing country. This study uses PLS-SEM to analyze two phases, comparing doctors’ technology perception and business analytics capabilities before and during the pandemic. Results We found significant shifts in ICU doctors’ perceptions of using the EMR system (i.e., perceived ease of use and usefulness) influencing the development of their business analytics capabilities (i.e., data aggregation, data analysis, and data interpretation) for decision-making effectiveness. Data analysis was the only capability contributing to decision-making effectiveness during the pandemic. Significant differences in the relationships were observed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion We demonstrate that COVID-19 has accelerated favorable technology perceptions and the increasing dependency on developing business analytics capabilities to inform healthcare decisions. Our findings contribute to the critical importance, challenges, and opportunities of using the EMR system for more data-driven decision-making, especially in the post-COVID era.