Implementing OpenMRS Implementing OpenMRS Medical Record System in an Medical Record System in an

AIDS treatment program in AIDS treatment program in UgandaUganda

Daniel KayiwaDaniel Kayiwa

About meAbout me

• Was born in Central Uganda.• Worked for three years at Makerere

University as a Software Developer.• Makerere University is in Kampala, the

capital city of Uganda.

OutlineOutline

• Introduction• Challenges faced• Electronic Medical Record System• OpenMRS• Experience with OpenMRS• Future work

HIV TreatmentHIV Treatment

• Free ARVs for HIV Positive patients.• Monthly clinic visits.• Paper forms are filled and stored.

Problems of HIV TreatmentProblems of HIV Treatment

• Huge pile of paper records that were almost not used for any kind of analysis or reporting.

• Tracking Lost follow-up patients

• Late reports• Questionable reports

Preliminary StepsPreliminary Steps

• WHO collaborated with MOH.• Makerere University FCIT was selected to give

technical support for three sites each having an average of 5,000 patients.

• OpenMRS was selected for its flexibility and being open source.

• Cross-site meetings to ensure data sharing.• New paper forms were created and existing

ones were modified to make them better for analysis.

Current StatusCurrent Status

• A huge number of electronic patient records, which is attracting research efforts.

• Standard reports generated by just a click of a button.

• Advanced users are being trained in SQL in order to create non built in reports.

SuccessesSuccesses

• Less time to produce reports.• Better quality and more reports.• Lost follow-up patients can be tracked.• Provides not just support for the AIDs

treatment program but also daily clinic care.

• A big dataset ready for research purposes.

ChallengesChallenges• Unreliable power.• Rigidity to change.• Job loss fear.• Increased workload fear.• Confidentiality issues with data entry clerks.• Lack of skills.• Integrating with existing legacy systems.• Not all expectations were met.• Reporting was complex due to the system data

model.

Lessons LearntLessons Learnt

• Build local capacity for technical support.• Not to expect a perfect world but look for

overall improvement.• Collect only enough data but not too

much.• Avoid qualifications you cannot pay for.

Work in progressWork in progress

• Support for PDAs and Mobile Phones to help in following up patients in remote areas.

QuestionsQuestions