Electronic Medical Records and Risk Management in Hospitals of Saudi Arabia

Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems and the associated risks have been well studied in developed countries; the same cannot be said for systems in developing countries. Previous research in Saudi Arabia healthcare organisations has shown a low level of quality in hospital services due to ineffective risk management. The objective of this research is to apply the Systems Theoretic Accident Modelling and Processes (STAMP) risk management technique in Saudi Arabia and evaluate its implementation. A two- phase case study in a healthcare organisation in Saudi Arabia was conducted. The first phase implemented the STAMP technique to identify and manage risks to the system. For the second phase the STAMP technique was extended to include a Checklist, to increase STAMP’s capability to mitigate risks, and the process reapplied. The results demonstrated that the inclusion of the STAMP Checklist (STAMPC) reduced errors and prevented system failures compared to regular STAMP.