An Electronic Patient Referral Application: A Case Study from Zambia

Abstract

This PDF document was made available from www.rti.org as a public service of RTI International. More information about RTI Press can be found at http://www.rti.org/rtipress. RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research organization dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. The RTI Press mission is to disseminate information about RTI research, analytic tools, and technical expertise to a national and international audience. RTI Press publications are peer-reviewed by at least two independent substantive experts and one or more Press editors. Suggested CitationDarcy, N., Kelley, C., Reynolds, E., Cressman, G., and Killam, P. (2010 All rights reserved. Please note that this document is copyrighted and credit must be provided to the authors and source of the document when you quote from it. You must not sell the document or make a profit from reproducing it. AbstractElectronic medical records (EMRs) present a multitude of potential benefits for health systems, especially those in low-income developing countries. For instance, EMR systems can improve patient care by allowing medical personnel to access patients' records throughout the geographic area; they can increase medical personnel's efficiency by reducing the time required for data management and record keeping. Benefits for the overall health care system include easier collection of data for surveillance and rich data sets for further health research. Successful implementation means facing significant challenges, however, including a lack of human capital, low levels of physical and material resources, and low use once the system is implemented. This report advocates deployment of an electronic patient referral system as a reasonable first step in deploying a complete EMR system, because implementers of the smaller system can address and overcome many of the obstacles that full EMR systems commonly face. The report discusses the participatory and user-driven design, implementation, and results of an installed electronic perinatal patientreferral system supporting health personnel who referred patients through a closed-network, Web-based system in the Lusaka health district in Zambia. It demonstrates how the patient referral module laid the groundwork for a larger EMR system.

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