- Category: Magazine2022Volume1
- Written by: BSMJ
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EXPECTATIONS, ATTITUDES AND CONCERNS OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS IN BULGARIA REGARDING ELECTRONIC HEALTH - A PILOT STUDY, Irena Hambarova, Aneta Tosheva, Nonka Mateva
Abstract: General practitioners are one of the first medical specialists which will use Health
Information System – the main structural unit of Bulgarian electronic health. The efficient
implementation and use of electronic health require the study of attitudes, needs, requirements
and concerns by end-users, such as general practitioners. The aim of the present study is to
analyze the readiness of general practitioners to use electronic health services, what are the
positive expectations towards it and what are the barriers that would prevent its use; what are
the attitudes of general practitioners towards the use of health mobile applications and to health
information online. A paper questionnaire was used for the study, distributed at a working
meeting of the National Association of General Practitioners in Bulgaria. From the provided
200 questionnaires, the answers of 66 general practitioners were collected. The software
product SPSSv.17 was used for statistical processing of the results. The results show a very
positive attitude towards the benefits of electronic health, ranging between 68.2% and 92.4%
on the different indicators. Among the general practitioner’s concerns regarding electronic
health are less time spent on patients (44.6%), and impaired patient confidentiality (47.6%).
The need for training is strongly expressed in 90.9% of respondents. The positive expectations
of general practitioners for electronic health are an important prerequisite for its successful
use. However, the need for timely and adequate technical training addressed to general
practitioners stands out.
Key words: electronic health, general practitioners, health mobile applications, attitudes