EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL TOOLS & PLATFORMS ON UNIT PERFORMANCE IN TERTIARY CARE PUBLIC SECTOR HOSPITALS
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Keywords
Digital tools, Unit performance, Healthcare adoption, Public sector hospitals, Gujranwala
Abstract
The use of digital tools and platforms in healthcare has been identified as a method to improve the efficiency, communication, and quality of patient care. On the other hand, the influence of these tools has not been fully studied within tertiary care public sector hospitals especially in context of regions like Gujranwala.
Objectives: To measure the impact of digital tools/platforms on performance in unit, workload management and job satisfaction among healthcare workers/students in tertiary care public sector hospitals Gujranwala.
Methods: In a cross sectional study of 200 participants, including physicians, nurses, administrative staff and healthcare students in several tertiary care public sector hospitals at Gujranwala. A structured online questionnaire was used to electronically collect data on demographic profile, acceptance and use of digital tools, perception of influence on unit performance, work volume management, job satisfaction; barriers to adoption; competences in training. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participant characteristics, whilst inferential statistics (chi-square tests and multiple regression analysis) were employed to explore relationships between the willingness of the elderly populations to use digital tools and various sociodemographic as well as sociocognitive factors.
Results: The study found that 84.5% of respondents used digital tools regularly, with electronic medical records being the most commonly applied tool; a vast percentage (81.5%) mentioned that improvements in unit effectiveness and efficiency were the results of ETF implementation. But there were some key barriers too: training opportunities — or rather, the absence of them (47.5%); technical problems (42.0%). More Digital Natives, students pursuing health studies and professionals with fewer years of experience were more inclined to use digital tools, in Attitude and Self-efficacy as the most important factors. Digital tools can substantially improve unit performance in tertiary care hospitals, yet there are barriers to full implementation including insufficient training and technical support.
Conclusions: Digital tools substantially improve unit performance in tertiary care hospitals, but implementation challenges related to lack of training and technical support need to be tackled. Therefore, to increase adoption and utilisation of digital tools in healthcare settings, targeted interventions aimed at improving attitudes and self-efficacy are important.
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Mian Waheed Ahmad
Associate Professsor Of Radiology, Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala.
Khalid Hussain
Assistant Professor Of Urology, Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala.
Ali Zain
Demonstrator , Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala.
Rameez Ahmed
Phd Scholar, Superior University, Lahore.
Mehreen Naz
Phd Scholar, Superior University, Lahore.