Overview
Ethiopia has faced challenges in implementing EMR systems in public health facilities due to inadequate training, lack of management commitment, poor ICT infrastructure, and hardware/software issues compounded by the absence of a national EMR implementation roadmap. Despite these setbacks, the country has recently made significant strides in deploying health information systems like DHIS2, eCHIS, eLMIS, ePHEM, and EMR. The Ministry of Health is now facilitating EMR systems that meet the Ethiopian EHR standard, including the Bahmni system, which is being implemented in various facilities, such as the University of Gondar Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital. Bahmni, an open-source Hospital Information System and EMR, integrates tools like OpenMRS, OpenERP/ODOO, dcm4chee, and OpenELIS to automate health facility services comprehensively.
Objective: The primary goal of this project is to customize and implement the Bahmni system at the University of Gondar Specialized and Comprehensive Hospital.
Approach: A multidisciplinary team was formed from the University of Gondar to lead the initiative. The team engaged with Digital Health Activities (DHA) to establish a strategic partnership, which led to an agreement for the customization of the Bahmni system. Following this, the Ministry of Health recommended the implementation of Bahmni. Subsequently, a detailed proposal was drafted and submitted, receiving approval from the University of Gondar management.
Priority Activities: The priority activities include capacity building, along with conducting eHealth literacy and EMR readiness assessments. This is followed by requirement gathering and analysis to understand system needs. The process also involves system installation and configuration, as well as system customization and implementation. Finally, monitoring and evaluation are carried out to ensure effective performance and continuous improvement of the system.