Framework for medical and health records management skills and competency development in Limpopo public hospitals to support healthcare service delivery in the digital era

Abstract

Skills and competency are vital for successful performance of any business function or activity in any organisation. The medical and health records management functions and activities in the public hospitals are no exception. If medical and health records are managed without appropriate skills and competency, they become inaccessible/non-locatable, are damaged or stolen, go missing or are misfiled, altered and even falsified. This eventually results in a chaotic healthcare service or even an inability by healthcare providers to render healthcare services. This study sought to develop a framework that may be applied to map-out standard requirements for officials responsible for medical and health records management to ensure that they are sufficiently capacitated with skills and competencies to effectively support public healthcare service in the digital age in Limpopo public hospitals. Data was collected using a questionnaire, as well as observations and interviews. The study discovered that the training and capacity building of records management staff in the public hospitals of Limpopo, South Africa, is lacking to such an extent that healthcare services are compromised.  The study recommends a framework for medical and health records management skills and competency development to support public healthcare service delivery and ensure provision of the necessary resources.

Keywords: Medical Records, Health Records, Framework, Skills and Competency, Public Health, Service Delivery