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Vol. 1 No. 2 (2024)

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February 23, 2026
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December 31, 2024

Copyright (c) 2024 Nawal Majed Alharbi, Minahi Fehaid Musaibeeh Alotaibi, Sultan Abdullah Dhawi Alotaibi, Faisal Abdullah Althuwaibi, Abdulaziz Fahad Alsulaimani, Fatimah Mahboob Mohammad Mangahi, Turki Rageh Alboqami, Salha Mohammed Al-Thrwy, Rehab Nasser Al-Hazmi, Mansour Ayed Al Anezi, Ahmed Adnan Ahmed Baqqashi, Mazen Mohammed Abdu Asiri

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A Socio-Historical Review of the Evolution of Medical Records and Its Impact on the Division of Labor Between Nursing, Physiotherapy, and Administrative Staff

https://doi.org/10.64483/202412666
Nawal Majed Alharbi
Qassim, Buraidah (Al-Mulayda Primary Healthcare Center), Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Minahi Fehaid Musaibeeh Alotaibi
Dawadmi General Hospital,Ministry of Health , Saudi Arabia
Sultan Abdullah Dhawi Alotaibi
King Faisal Hospital in Taif,Ministry of Health , Saudi Arabia
Faisal Abdullah Althuwaibi
King Faisal Medical Complex, Taif,Ministry of Health , Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz Fahad Alsulaimani
King Faisal Medical Complex, Taif,Ministry of Health , Saudi Arabia
Fatimah Mahboob Mohammad Mangahi
Prince Mohammed bin Nasser Hospital, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Turki Rageh Alboqami
Ministry of Health branch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Salha Mohammed Al-Thrwy
Harob Phc, Ministry of Health , Saudi Arabia
Rehab Nasser Al-Hazmi
‏Al-Jahw Health Center,Ministry of Health , Saudi Arabia
Mansour Ayed Al Anezi
Riyadh, Al Salam Health Center, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Ahmed Adnan Ahmed Baqqashi
Ministry Of Health , Saudi Arabia
Mazen Mohammed Abdu Asiri
King Fahd Central Hospital – Jazan, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia

Corresponding Author(s) : Nawal Majed Alharbi

nalharbi199@moh.gov.sa

Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, Vol. 1 No. 2 (2024)

Abstract

Background: The medical record has evolved from a simple bedside notebook into a complex digital infrastructure, representing not merely a technological upgrade but a fundamental reorganization of clinical work, communication, and professional relationships.


Aim: This narrative review traces the socio-historical evolution of medical records through a sociological lens, examining how technological shifts have reconfigured the division of labor among nurses, physiotherapists, medical secretaries, and health informaticians, analyzing the redistribution of documentation responsibilities, impact on professional boundaries, and enduring tensions between clinical care and administrative demands.


Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across academic databases for peer-reviewed articles, ethnographic studies, and policy analyses published between 2010 and 2024.


Results: The medical record has always been a site of professional negotiation. The paper era positioned nurses as expert gatekeepers, while physiotherapists maintained parallel records and medical secretaries managed paper flow. EHR transition, accelerated by the HITECH Act, disrupted these roles, thrusting physicians into data entry, challenging physiotherapists' ICF integration, and creating new informatician mediators. Persistent friction includes nursing burnout and constant role renegotiation.


Conclusion: Digitization has fundamentally reshaped healthcare's division of labor, creating new hierarchies and redistributing power. Understanding this context is essential for designing systems that support collaborative, patient-centered care.

Keywords

Electronic Health Records, Division of Labor, Sociology of Professions, Nursing Documentation, Health Informatics.
Alharbi, N. M., Minahi Fehaid Musaibeeh Alotaibi, Sultan Abdullah Dhawi Alotaibi, Faisal Abdullah Althuwaibi, Abdulaziz Fahad Alsulaimani, Fatimah Mahboob Mohammad Mangahi, … Mazen Mohammed Abdu Asiri. (2024). A Socio-Historical Review of the Evolution of Medical Records and Its Impact on the Division of Labor Between Nursing, Physiotherapy, and Administrative Staff. Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 1(2), 2389–2397. https://doi.org/10.64483/202412666
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