Studies indicate that certain factors of organizational readiness impact the success of implementation of electronic medical record systems (EMR) in medical practices. The purpose of this study was to build on the insights gained from a previous qualitative study (Wager, 2000), and test and refine the evolving theory that the presence of certain organizational factors may lead to successful implementation of EMR systems in community-based ambulatory care practices. A questionnaire was distributed to a group of direct care practitioners that worked in community-based ambulatory care practices and had experience in the use of EMR. A response rate of 64.7% of the practices was achieved. Although only two of the five organizational factors that emerged from this investigation were significantly correlated with overall success of implementation of the EMR, comments solicited from the respondents indicated an overall positive impact of the EMR. The findings of this exploratory and descriptive study expand the knowledge gained in the earlier qualitative investigation (Wager, 2000) and demonstrate the challenge of studying the implementation of EMR in the complex environment of the community-based ambulatory care environment.
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