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