Aim: Nursing records maintained by nurses have begun to be computerized in Japan. This study was intended to identify the rate of diffusion of computerized medical records, as reported by nursing staff on the basis of bed size, organizational category, and area with an accessible population of hospitals with ≥100 beds. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive design was employed. A total of 4738 hospitals registered in Japan as of June 2004 with ≥100 beds were examined for this study. A reply paid postcard was mailed and the questions on the response card consisted of four demographic variables in relation to the hospitals and the electronic medical record (EMR) implementation status. SPSS V.12 was used for the statistical analysis. Results: A majority of hospitals reported that they had no plan for implementation. Complete and partial implementation peaked in 2004. A high percentage of medium-sized hospitals indicated complete or partial implementation. A high percentage of large hospitals was preparing implementation or had an implementation plan. There was no relationship between city and rural groups in terms of implementation status. Conclusions:The study results indicated that an overwhelming majority of the hospitals had no plan for the implementation of EMRs. The hospital size and organizational type were linked to the prevalence of EMRs rather than the region. As a result of the limits of the study method, the full details regarding computerized nursing records were not investigated. Relativity among computerization, quality of health care, and health achievements also was not researched. In the future, the interrelationships among the issues arising from computerizing medical records in hospital information systems (HISs), the functions and roles of nurses and physicians, and health achievements should be studied, while capturing the HIS status in other occupations.

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