Framework for medical and health records management

Skills and competency are vital for the 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 the provision of the necessary resources.技能与胜任力是任何组织内各项业务职能与活动高效开展的核心支撑。公立医院的医疗健康档案管理职能与活动亦不例外。若医疗健康档案管理缺乏适配的技能与胜任力，则可能出现档案无法调取/无法定位、损毁、失窃、遗失、归档错误、篡改甚至伪造等问题，最终导致医疗服务秩序混乱，甚至使医疗服务提供者无法正常提供诊疗服务。 本研究旨在构建一套框架，用于明确南非林波波省公立医院医疗健康档案管理从业人员所需的标准能力要求，确保其具备充足的技能与胜任力，以在数字时代有效支撑公共医疗服务运转。本研究采用问卷调查、实地观察与访谈相结合的方式收集数据，研究发现，南非林波波省公立医院档案管理人员的培训与能力建设缺口极大，已严重影响医疗服务质量。据此，本研究提出一套医疗健康档案管理技能与胜任力培养框架，旨在支撑公共医疗服务的高效交付，并保障相关必要资源的充足配置。