Document Type : Original Article
Author
Department of Oral Public Health, Dental Material Research Center, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
AIM: Worldwide, the adoption of electronic patient recording system is increasing among many
parts of the health sectors. Although paper‑based recording of patients’ information was a routine
in many departments of dental schools, easy destruction of collected information and the costs of
its conversion to electronic data, limited the availability of updated data at the department of dental
public health. This paper aimed to explain the project of designing a system for Electronic Oral Health
Recording (EOHR) in Isfahan dental school. The initial testing of system among dental students is
reported too.
METHODS: A situation analysis was conducted among the faculty members and dental students
dealing with the Department of Oral Public Health. The content of EOHR was developed based on
the WHO STEPwise model for chronic disease surveillance systems. The system was developed as
an application for smartphone and a web‑based database. The spiral model was applied in software
development which was accomplished by the object‑oriented programming method. After that, alpha
and beta testing were done in target population. Data were compiled during the interview and oral
examination by 40 dental students among 200 schoolchildren. It has been stored as a data bank
following the network connection. The pitfalls of the system during its usage in dental public health
course were evaluated as well.
RESULTS: The baseline analysis of situation generally revealed a perception of need to change the
existing paper‑based recording system among the dental students and the academic members; it was
summarized in five areas as follows: benefits restrictions, structural barriers, perceived advantages
and feasibility. The application was designed and completed as six pages interface including
demographic and follow‑up page, socioeconomic status of family, oral health‑related behavior,
dental and gingival status, and quality of life. Drawbacks, such as nonresponded items, common
assumptions, student registration page on the mobile, and modification in the output Excel file for
analysis variables, have been resolved.
CONCLUSION: A software application and web‑based database were designed regarding the
characteristics of Agile Unified Process development and educational dental setting. This system
should be improved and established gradually.
Keywords
use and impacts of electronic health records: A review of the
research literature. Int J Med Inform 2008;77:291‑304.
2. Linder JA, Ma J, Bates DW, Middleton B, Stafford RS. Electronic
health record use and the quality of ambulatory care in the United
States. Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1400‑5.
3. Garg AX, Adhikari NK, McDonald H, Rosas‑Arellano MP,
Devereaux PJ, Beyene J, et al. Effects of computerized clinical
decision support systems on practitioner performance and patient
outcomes: A systematic review. JAMA 2005;293:1223‑38.
4. Schleyer T, Spallek H, Hernández P. A qualitative investigation
of the content of dental paper‑based and computer‑based patient
record formats. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2007;14:515‑26.
5. Greenwood SR, Grigg PA, Vowles RV, Stephens CD. Clinical
informatics and the dental curriculum. A review of the impact of
informatics in dental care, its implications for dental education.
Eur J Dent Educ 1997;1:153‑61.
6. Heid DW, Chasteen J, Forrey AW. The electronic oral health
record. J Contemp Dent Pract 2002;3:43‑54.
7. World Health Organization. Electronic Health Records: Manual
for Developing Countries. Manila, Philippines: WHO; 2006.
p. 10‑6.
8. Chattopadhyay A, Coelho de Souza T, Arevalo O. Electronic oral
health records in practice and research. In: Daskalaki A, editor.
Dental Computing and Applications: Advanced Techniques for
Clinical Dentistry. New York, USA:Medical Information Science
Reference; 2009. p. 209‑12.
9. Ministry of health and education, Statistics and Information
Technology Office. Iran; Available from: http://behdasht.gov.
ir/index.aspx?siteid=101&pageid=20350
10. Petersen PE, Bourgeois D, Bratthall D, Ogawa H. Oral health
information systems – towards measuring progress in oral health
promotion and disease prevention. Bull World Health Organ
2005;83:686‑93.
11. Masoe AV, Blinkhorn AS, Colyvas K, Taylor J, Blinkhorn FA.
Reliability study of clinical electronic records with paper records
in the NSW public oral health service. Public Health Res Pract
2015;25:e2521519.
12. Wongsapai M, Suebnukarn S, Rajchagool S, Kijsanayotin B.
Health‑oriented electronic oral health record for health
surveillance. Stud Health Technol Inform 2013;192:763‑7.
13. Danish National Board of Health. Dental Caries in Danish
Children: 1973‑2004. Copenhagen: National Board of Health; 2005.
14. Wagner IV, Lex MacNeil MA, Esteves A, MacEntee MI. An
electronic oral health record to document, plan and educate. Eur
J Dent Educ 2015;19:209‑16.
)