The Outreach EMR system delivers a number of benefits.
For Patients
- Accurate and accessible monitoring of nutrition over time by measuring of height/weight/arm circumference
- Computer records of immunization is more accurate than hand held alternatives ensuring better prevention from infectious disease
- Increased confidentiality as staff access data on screen, not by word of mouth
- Safer prescriptions from onscreen instructions
- Improved follow up and monitoring of prolonged or chronic illness
- Improved confidentiality as there will be no need to shout questions across to other clinicians – things like HIV status will be flagged in the system
- Better treatment as patient’s questions can be answered more accurately s a result of histories
- Ability to serve remote communities as well as those living nearer the main clinic
For Your Staff
- Time savings - when a patient returns your staff only need to identify the patient, to see their records – there is no need to take a new full (and probably imperfect) history
- Immediate access to previous data facilitates better care
- Continual professional development through case reviews and clinical searches
- On screen assistance for prescribing
For Your Clinic
- Provides evidence to prove clinic changing health of community/individual, allowing informed planning and advocacy
- Provides evidence of care and protocol adherence
- Saves money through downward pressure on prescribing costs and reduction of ad-hoc (and often repetitive) test requests
- Better staff moral and retention through enhanced continual professional development
- Saves reporting time - essential reports done in minutes not days
For Your Community
- Better health care provided to your community, at a lower cost
- Increasing health promotion e.g. through increasing immunization rates increases herd immunity
- Computer searches allow early identification of disease hotspots and targeted health intervention, eg increased malaria in a village may mean that they need help or encouragement to increase use of sleep nets
For Health Managers
For Your Country
- Reduced drug budgets
- Accurate and automatic data reporting (through DHIS2 interoperability) helps develop appropriate health services
- Academic research through easy access to data by outside agencies can lead to health improvement
- Accurate monitoring of clinical activity