Business Research Methods: Ethical Implementation of EMR in Hospitals

This report presents a business research methods case study on the ethical considerations surrounding the implementation of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in hospitals. The research focuses on understanding the ethical implications of EMR implementation, emphasizing patient privacy, informed consent, and data security. The study employs a descriptive research design, collecting data through online surveys from nurses, patients, and healthcare professionals in Australian hospitals. The report details participant selection, recruitment strategies, and the importance of informed consent to mitigate potential risks. It analyzes the potential benefits of the research, which include improving EMR implementation methods and ensuring the protection of patient data. The study also outlines the data collection process, including the use of structured questionnaires and descriptive statistical analysis to assess the effectiveness of different EMR implementation methods.

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Introduction
Research and the requirement for it is a lifelong focus of attention that will be in use for
many years to come as the society develop and advance into the future. Constant research is
being done on every life aspect. Research is crucial more so in the healthcare sector, and it helps
to save lives and enhance the outcome of patient care (Boonstra, Versluis and Vos, 2014).
Ethical considerations in every research action should be first and foremost as the participants
need to be aware of what they are partaking, the risks involved as well as the merits and opt to
participate without breaching their rights. The fundamental ethical principles in research are the
overall decisions that serve as a simple realization for the many moral evaluations of human
actions (Jawhari, Ludwick, Keenan, Zakus and Hayward, 2016., p.116). The central beliefs are
those that are accepted in our cultural traditions and relevant to research involving human
species, respect for people, beneficence, and justice. Respecting research participants should be
first before any study is undertaken. In this context, the conducted research was to establish
ethical considerations on the methods embraced during the implementation of Electric Medical
Records (EMR) in Hospitals.
Methods to implement Electronic Medical Records (EMR) in Hospitals
The healthcare industry is undergoing a transition from paper records to electronic
medical records (EMR). The HER systems have proved to be essential in maximizing profits and
delivering standard care to patients (Carpenter, Gonzalez, Retsch-Bogart, Sleath and Wilfond,
2017). This case study was focused on the ethical considerations embraced when choosing the
method for implementing EMR in hospitals. When implementing an EMR, it is essential to
conduct a pilot study regarding privacy and other factors of both the patients and practitioners

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(Nguyen, Bellucci and Nguyen, 2014, p.796). The ethics case study will be of great significance
as it examines whether the EMR technicians put concerned stakeholders into consideration when
implementing the systems. The participants for this research will involve patients, nurses, and
other professionals within the Australian healthcare sector. The study will adopt a descriptive
research design as its methodology for the research. The data will be gathered through online
administered surveys to the participants regarding the views on the methods adopted when
implementing EMRs in hospitals. The data collection exercise will take an approximated period
of 2 weeks and adopt descriptive data analysis techniques.
Participants Details
The participants for this study will comprise of 30 nurses, 60 patients, and 30
professionals from three hospitals in Melbourne to represent the entire hospitals that have
implemented EMR. In this number, 75% of the respondents will be females, while the remaining
25% will be males. The reason for the gender disparity is due to the fact that in most cases, most
female patients spent more time in hospitals compared to their male counterparts (Tubaishat,
2017, p.364). Females undergo situations such as pregnancy, which require regular visits to the
healthcare centers, thus have a higher appearance on the EMR system (Chuang, Yii, Nyandowe
and Iyer, 2019, p.1453). Consequently, a large percentage of nurses are females, thus accounting
for the imbalance in participants sample size. The age of the participants will range between 20
and 45 years as they have a better understanding of the advancements in technology.
Participant Selection
The participants targeted by this study are the patients who visit healthcare centers
regularly, nurses, and professionals who have experienced the implementation of EMR systems.

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The study will exclude participants aged below 20 years and above 45 years. The target
population will be the total number of patients who are regular in the identified hospitals, nurses,
and professionals all within the age bracket. The random sampling technique will be employed in
coming up with the anticipated number of 120.
Recruitment
Approaching Participants
The participants for this research will be approach and informed about the research through the
respective hospitals' management. Through the management, I will send a note informing the
participant of the importance of partaking in this study regarding the methods adopted in
implementing EMR. I will provide an option for the interested participants to participate in the
survey to respond via the designed email through which the survey will be administered. Being
offered financial aid by the institution, the research will be provided free internet that will enable
them to respond to the questionnaires through the online platform. There will be no further
compensation for the participants as the study will be aimed at improving their well-being and
that of other hospitals implementing EMR to ease their operations. This will be rather of higher
significance for them to participate in this study other than the reward.
Informed Consent
Respect is crucial in any activity. In research, respect falls under ethical considerations
along with informed consent. Informed consent is when a prepared participant with an upright
mental capacity opts for what happens to them; they are provided with all disclosures and
adequate information, involving the risks and benefits as well as the opportunity to agree or
decline to the study (Park, Lee and Chen, 2012, p.207). Any person aged 16 years and above,

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they are liable for consent to participate in a study. Although the study is conducted on the
animal species and humans, unlike humans, animals do not choose whether to go through an
informed consent process (Regan, 2017, p.741). Thus, informed consent is not necessary in all
instances of research. Once a respondent has been issued with the consent, the researcher is
supposed to perform in the best interest of the participant. It is unethical to conduct a study on
any individuals without seeking their consent. Some patients, nurses, and professionals already
feel susceptible and untrusting to the EMR systems implementation methods (Ovretveit, Scott,
Rundall, Shortell and Brommels, 2007, p.266). Some of these people, usually their families who
act as witnesses to the selected respondents on the research being done.
In this research, the participants will be informed of their rights before starting the
research to ensure that they are aware of what they are getting into voluntarily. The participants
will be given an option to opt-out of the research if they feel uncomfortable. However, proper
dialogue will be done before starting the research to ensure that there will be minimal or nil
withdrawals. This will be attained by providing the participants with a consent form outlining all
their rights to ensure that at no point will their rights be violated.
Risks
Potential Risks
Participating subjects of research have the right to be informed about the possible risks
and benefits related to any study that they may join in (Cucciniello, Lapsley, Nasi and Pagliari,
2015, p.268). This falls in the case of beneficence. Beneficence, in the case of a survey,
surpasses the common definition of the word itself. It is seen as an obligation to the patient under
risks, which is a firm standard. Possible risks in research can impact both the patient, their

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families as well as the institution in which they work (Ludwick, Manca and Doucette, 2010,
p.40). Looking in the methods adopted for implementing EMR systems in hospitals. Looking in
the process of implementing EMR in hospitals, patient's information is in a way at stake of
getting into unwanted hands through the papers that may not be disposed of entirely, exposing
their confidential information. Nurse and professionals, on the other hand, are at risk of
mishandling patients' data in the systems as they need time to adapt to the EMR systems (Paré et
al., 2014, p.548). In one of the hospitals, the patients were not informed on the method adopted
to implement the EMR system. They should be informed that their information would be
accessed by hackers who may hack into the systems accessing their confidential data.
Mitigation of Risk
The risks involved through the EMR implementation methods could be mitigated by
ensuring that all stakeholders are informed thoroughly about the EMR implementation methods
and the possible repercussions it may bring to the patients, nurses, and professionals as well as
the society at large. Through this, the parties could be aware of the dangers lurking and adopt a
preventive measure to guard against any hazards like that from hackers.
Potential Benefits
This research is beneficial to the participants and the society at large in that it will help
judge the most appropriate method for implementing EMR systems in hospitals. This will help
ensures that patients' data is safe from hackers as a proper method will ensure that the network
through which the information is accessed is secure. Lastly, the research will also help bring an
understanding that medical professionals have a standard duty in caring and protecting patient's
data, their life, and all their rights as well as his right to privacy at all costs.

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Data Collection
This research will conduct quantitative data that will be gathered in the form of structured
questionnaires. The questionnaires will comprise of questions seeking to establish the
effectiveness of various methods used in implementing EMR systems. The survey will require
both short answers that will be filled in the gaps in the open-ended questions and ticks on the
closed questions. The questions will establish the safety of patients' data based on the adopted
method for implementing the EMR systems in hospitals. The surveys will be filled in through an
online platform (email in form google forms) and returned through the same email. After
receiving the questionnaires, the data will be sorted and entered into SPSS for analysis. The data
will be analyzed through descriptive statistics.

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