Developing an electronic medical record system in Tanzania

Data, Health Information, and Measurement, HIV & AIDS,
Technical Briefs & Case Studies

Developing an electronic medical record system in Tanzania

Despite making good progress toward digitizing client level data, the Government of Tanzania is still working to meet the latest global guidelines for HIV/AIDS programs. One major reason is that the country’s data collection and HIS do not efficiently deliver the quality information required for effective monitoring and planning. As in many developing countries, patient records in Tanzania are captured in a labor-intensive, paper-based system that can be unreliable, making retrieval difficult and putting patient confidentiality and privacy at risk. In the current national health information exchange conceptual model, the electronic medical record (EMR) is an external system under the health information management domain. A health information mediator will allow various data registries and aggregators, such as DHIS2, to be interoperable. MSH is supporting the development and implementation of an EMR system in Tanzania. The work involves engaging key stakeholders through a newly formed care delivery technical working group; developing an approach; outlining a detailed work plan with partner roles and responsibilities; gathering iterative system requirements; and managing the system development lifecycle, including planning for sustainability.