2012--ELIK

Transitioning to Electronic Medical Records in Rural Kenya


ELI-K Chebaiywa Dispensary was a small, mission-based rural health clinic in western Kenya serving underserved communities.


By 2012 Chebaiywa had achieved an upgraded Health Clinic status, thanks to growth in both services and patient base. At this time, clinical staff identified a need to improve the quality of patient care and better track patients through the proposed use of an electronic medical system. A second GlobalHealth Lab student team returned to Chebaiywa to research the challenges and success factors associated with implementation of this technology. The team observed and interviewed the staff, analyzed current processes, documented the health center’s workflows, and concluded that implementing a paper medical record system was the right next step for the health center, before moving to an electronic one. They proposed and began training for new processes to integrate a paper medical record system with their current workflows. When GlobalHealth Lab staff checked in a few months later, Chebaiywa had plans to implement the paper medical record system and to begin computer training immediately.

 

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