Training and development needs of medical record staff at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

Abstract

The health sector in Ghana has been undergoing fundamental,  broad-based and far reaching organisational reform. The principal  mechanism for change has been the re-organisation of the Ministry of  Health and the creation of a Ghana Health Service. Improved information  management is perceived as a key strategy to support the reform itself  and to underpin the successful provision of health care services in time to come. In the hospital setting, this brings into the spotlight the role of  medical records departments which exist to collect, process, maintain,  retrieve and distribute patient records. Records departments are charged  to provide efficient and effective service. But efficiency of service provision is dependent on factors such as physical and financial resources and more importantly the calibre of personnel providing the service. Though the  medical record services play an important role in health care delivery,  indications are that the records function suffers from lack of attention. One  of the key areas of neglect has been training and staff development. The study investigated the type and nature of training existing for medical records staff at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. The questionnaire and  interview were the main instruments for data collection. It emerged from the study that as far as training and staff development are concerned, the  medical record service has suffered from lack of attention for many years.  This neglect has far reaching implications for the quality of service required from the Ghana Health Service. The study has made a number of  recommendations for improvement.