The Role Of Records Management Practices In Improving Decision Making In Public Hospitals: The Case Of Ashanti Bekwai Municipal Hospital

ABSTRACT The role of healthcare institutions in providing quality health care and making decisions strive on the effective management of hospital records which are made up of clinical/medical and nonclinical records. The study therefore sought to inquire into the role of records management practices in improving clinical and administrative decisions at Ashanti Bekwai Municipal Hospital. In view of that, the study used the Hybrid Records Life Cycle Model which encompassed the pre-natal phase of the Records Continuum Model and the conceptual stages of the Records Life Cycle Model as its underpinning model for the study. The model extended to decision making variables such as decision accuracy, decision commitment, decision timeliness and decision understanding. The study employed a mixed method approach where an exploratory survey was used. A cluster sampling technique was used to classify the whole hospital into 16 units (clusters). The researcher purposively selected 160 health workers and a records manager to participate in the study. A semi-structured questionnaire, interview guide and direct observation were employed to elicit information from 160 health workers and the records manager. The findings show that the hospital has a records management programme, a disaster management plan, security and access control measures and an electronic records management system to manage patients’ records and to keep reports on morbidity and mortality. However, the hospital does not organize training programmes on records management to its staff. The study further reveals that records officers are always engaged in the design of records management systems of the hospital. Furthermore, the kind of records management system at the hospital improves decision timeliness, decision accuracy and decision commitment. Unfortunately, the hospital is plagued by challenges such as inadequate storage location (filing space), misfiling, missing files, damaged records, poor staff knowledge, lack of records management training programmes and inadequate hardware. In that xxii regards, the study recommends that healthcare facilities should train and educate their employees in the management of records. Also, healthcare facilities should adopt an integrated electronic records management system (automation) as a solution to minimize records keeping challenges caused by paper records keeping. Key words: Records, Records Management, Decision Making, Records Life Cycle Model, Records Continuum Model and Hybrid Records Life Cycle Model.