1 International Journal of Scientific Research and Innovative Technology Vol. 6 No. 9; November 2019 Effects of Electronic Medical Records in Service Delivery at Kijabe Mission Hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya Obwoge, Ronald Omenge Kahoro, Emmah Wanjiku 1. Department of Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Egerton University, Kenya 2. Department of Health Records and Information, Kenya Medical Training College, Nakuru, Kenya Abstract: Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are the legal patient records created in digital format in health services which may include a variety of personal and clinical information. The study aimed at determining effect of EMR in Service Delivery at Kijabe Mission Hospital. The specific objectives were: to determine the extent of utilization, the perceptions of the staff, and the challenges associated with the utilization of EMR at the hospital. The study was carried out for a period of six weeks. It was a mixed study, comprising both the qualitative and quantitative data with a case study design. The study interviewed a sample of Health care providers on duty during the study period, who interacted with the EMR systems. The sample was selected using a purposive sampling technique. The sample size of 30 healthcare providers was determined based on Morse (1994) suggestion of the ideal sample size. Method of data collection was self- administered questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SPPS version 22. The results presented in numbers, tables, essays and charts. The study concluded that, all the departments were using EMR systems with most of the departments being hybrid (digital and paperwork). Also staff had a positive perception on EMR indicating that EMRs: improved the quality of care and services, is easy to use compared to paperwork, does not interrupt patient interaction with healthcare providers, reduces medication and prescription errors, speed-up registration of general information, ensured high quality data is entered, improved quality of treatment, allowed for transparency and accountability of how patients’ funds were used, were environmental friendly and reliable. Further, challenges were; 33% had no basic knowledge and skills of EMR functions, 23% viewed EMR as time consumer during patient clerking, 50% viewed the cost of EMR implementation and maintenance affecting service delivery, power outages, auto filling of gaps, double standards of recording, system vendor provides an un-customized system to the customer’s need and EMR did not provide privacy and security for patient information. The study recommended that; all the departments of the facility should adopt full EMR, the facility should emphasize on the benefits of EMR, the administrators and the staff should work on curbing the challenges experienced while using the EMR systems. Key words: Electronic medical records, utilization, perception, challenges