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From Spreadsheets to FHIR and Research Databases: Digitizing Medication Data in Elderly Care Within the RM4Health
Vinícius Lima1, Rute Almeida1, Izabela Calvi1
1RISE-Health, MEDCIDS, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Portugal.
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
|May 23, 2026
Summary
This study introduces a structured datasheet for medication management in long-term care, improving data accuracy and enabling digital integration. The approach facilitates automated data exchange between systems, enhancing clinical and research capabilities.
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Digital Health
- Long-Term Care Technology
Background:
- Medication management in long-term care is predominantly paper-based, leading to data fragmentation and errors.
- Limited data reusability hinders clinical decision-making and research in long-term care settings.
- The RM4Health project aimed to improve medication data management in Portuguese long-term care facilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement a structured datasheet template for single-point medication data entry.
- To develop services for converting data into HL7 FHIR MedicationStatement resources and REDCap.
- To demonstrate bidirectional data flow between REDCap and FHIR resources.
Main Methods:
- Adoption of a structured datasheet with embedded validations for medication data entry.
- Development of services to convert XLS data to HL7 FHIR and CSV formats.
- Implementation of bidirectional data conversion between REDCap and FHIR.
Main Results:
- The structured datasheet template proved easy to adopt in the Portuguese use case.
- Automated conversion services facilitated data integration into clinical and research systems.
- Bidirectional data flow between REDCap and FHIR resources was demonstrated as feasible.
Conclusions:
- Low-friction changes at the data entry point can significantly improve data flows in long-term care.
- The use of open standards like HL7 FHIR supports seamless integration of medication data.
- This approach enhances data accuracy, reusability, and interoperability in long-term care settings.
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