Implementation of electronic medical records requires more than new software: Lessons on integrating and managing health technologies from Mbarara, Uganda

Amy Madore; Julie Rosenberg; Winnie R Muyindike; David R Bangsberg; Mwebesa B Bwana; Jeffrey N Martin; Michael Kanyesigye; Rebecca Weintraub

doi:10.1016/j.hjdsi.2015.08.006

Implementation of electronic medical records requires more than new software: Lessons on integrating and managing health technologies from Mbarara, Uganda

Healthc (Amst). 2015 Dec;3(4):264-9. doi: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2015.08.006. Epub 2015 Sep 26.

Authors

Amy Madore¹, Julie Rosenberg¹, Winnie R Muyindike², David R Bangsberg³, Mwebesa B Bwana⁴, Jeffrey N Martin⁵, Michael Kanyesigye⁴, Rebecca Weintraub⁶

Affiliations

¹ Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
² Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara, Uganda; Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
³ Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Center for Global Health, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard University Center for AIDS Research, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁴ Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
⁵ University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
⁶ Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Global Health Delivery Project at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: rebecca@globalhealthdelivery.org.

PMID: 26699355
DOI: 10.1016/j.hjdsi.2015.08.006

Abstract

Implementation lessons: • Technology alone does not necessarily lead to improvement in health service delivery, in contrast to the common assumption that advanced technology goes hand in hand with progress. • Implementation of electronic medical record (EMR) systems is a complex, resource-intensive process that, in addition to software, hardware, and human resource investments, requires careful planning, change management skills, adaptability, and continuous engagement of stakeholders. • Research requirements and goals must be balanced with service delivery needs when determining how much information is essential to collect and who should be interfacing with the EMR system. • EMR systems require ongoing monitoring and regular updates to ensure they are responsive to evolving clinical use cases and research questions. • High-quality data and analyses are essential for EMRs to deliver value to providers, researchers, and patients.

Keywords: Building research capacity; Change management; Data management; Electronic medical records; HIV.

MeSH terms

Electronic Health Records*
Health Plan Implementation
Humans
Medical Records Systems, Computerized
Software*
Uganda

Grants and funding

P30 AI027763/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States