Benefits

The Outreach EMR system delivers a number of benefits.


For patients


  • Clinicians' access to chronological healthcare history dramatically improves the patient experience and outcomes
  • 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
  • Ability to serve remote communities as well as those living nearer the main clinic


For your staff


  • Immediate access to previous data in each patient's chronological records saves staff time and facilitates better care for the patients
  • 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


  • No need to travel to obtain up to date information about each clinic you manage


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