Developing an Electronic Medical Record for Interlinked Care Services in Haiti.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Systems Development
• Global Health Technology

Background:

• A large Haitian clinical organization with 30 interlinked programs needed an effective electronic medical record system (EMR).
• Existing open-source EMR solutions were evaluated for suitability to the organization's complex needs.
• Resource-limited settings present unique challenges for implementing and sustaining healthcare IT infrastructure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a tailored EMR system to meet the specific requirements of a multi-program clinical organization in Haiti.
• To assess the impact of a locally developed EMR on data quality and patient care.
• To provide insights into the development of sustainable, context-specific health information systems.

Main Methods:

• Assessment of available open-source electronic medical record software.
• Design and implementation of a modular, proprietary EMR system by a local team.
• Evaluation of the EMR system's impact on data quality and patient care processes.

Main Results:

• Successful implementation of a modular proprietary EMR system tailored to the organization's workflow.
• Demonstrated improvements in data quality and patient care delivery.
• Validation of the feasibility and benefits of local EMR development in a resource-limited environment.

Conclusions:

• Custom-designed, local EMR systems can effectively address complex healthcare needs in resource-limited settings.
• Developing sustainable EMR solutions that align with specific care models is crucial for improving healthcare delivery.
• The Haitian clinical organization's experience highlights the potential of local innovation in health informatics.