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Developing a medical records system at the Ola During Children's Hospital, Freetown, Sierra Leone

John Dawson1, Matthew Clark, Liz Peloso

  • 1School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. johndawson@sympatico.ca

Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
|February 22, 2011
PubMed

Insights

A paper-based medical record system and database were developed for Ola During Children's Hospital in Sierra Leone. This initiative focused on incremental progress and local capacity building for sustainable healthcare data management.

Area of Science:

  • Healthcare Informatics
  • Medical Record Systems
  • Global Health

Background:

  • Resource-constrained settings present unique challenges for medical record management.
  • Effective data management is crucial for improving pediatric healthcare outcomes in low-income countries.
  • The Ola During Children's Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone, faced limitations in its existing medical record system.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the development of a paper-based medical record system and database.
  • To outline a strategy for migrating data to OpenMRS for long-term sustainability.
  • To foster local capacity in database management within a resource-limited environment.

Main Methods:

  • Collaborative development involving local and international partners.
  • Implementation of an incremental approach to system development.
  • Focus on building local expertise for database administration.

Main Results:

  • A functional paper-based medical record system and database were established.
  • Key factors for project success included incremental progress and local capacity building.
  • A clear intent to migrate data to OpenMRS was established for sustainability.

Conclusions:

  • The project successfully established a foundational medical record system in a challenging setting.
  • Sustainability was prioritized through planned data migration and local training.
  • The initiative demonstrates a viable model for improving health information systems in resource-limited hospitals.

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