Project Lead(s): Abdullah Saleh
Issue
Sharing electronic health patient records (EHRs) across independent clinics allows patients to seek care where appropriate.
This is particularly important in resource-constrained settings, where necessary healthcare resources may exist within communities but are distributed across many care organizations.
Solution
Kibera is Kenya’s largest slum, with about 90 independent medical clinics offering different services.
The Kibera Medical Record Initiative (KMRI) pilot project aims to install an EHR system in seven independent clinics and link them in a network, so that patients who move from one clinic to another can have their records shared electronically.
EHRs were installed in wo clinics (AMREF and Ushirika) in Kibera. A total of 6,750 patients are seen monthly in the two clinics, with the AMREF Clinic seeing about 4,500 patients monthly and the Ushirika Medical Clinic seeing about 2,250 patients monthly.
Outcome
Patients who move between the two clinics have their data shared, so that clinicians in one clinic know what treatment the patient received in the other clinic. Installation of the EHR in a third clinic is in progress.
Based on the success of the project, the Kenyan Ministry of Health has requested the team’s assistance on interoperability of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software. The team has also been invited to sit on a National Committee in Kenya to discuss equality and access to health information, which will facilitate expansion of EMRs in Kenya.
An additional grant of $60,000 has been obtained from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to develop the geographical information system phase of KMRI and to evaluate community health and epidemiological trends in the setting of a mapped-out environment.
Results of the research were presented at the 12th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, held in Jamaica.