OpenMRS is a global community that has developed an open-source electronic medical record system (EMR), made to support healthcare in low and middle-income countries. It supports both patients and doctors by providing easy access to medical records, diagnosis, prescriptions, and test results. Any healthcare system or member of the healthcare team, worldwide, can download the OpenMRS application for free and customize it according to their needs. This free software allows clinics and hospitals that use OpenMRS to provide efficient and effective medical care.

 

OpenMRS mission is summed up perfectly in their motto: Write code. Save lives.

 

What started as a simple fix in a single database in a clinic in Kenya, soon became something much more: a community. Almost 9 million patients in more than 3000 sites have registered digital medical records thanks to OpenMRS.

 

SolDevelo, an IT company from Poland, that often works with digital development initiatives, was very happy when in 2013 could join this incredible community. Our first project was to introduce a new Concept Dictionary Open Web App to the OpenMRS and create a library of UI components. Three developers, working pro-bono, spend over 2000 hours to make this software better for everyone. Thanks to this work, adding new features to the OpenMRS became easier and faster. The community could add new functionality that will help bring better healthcare in the most vulnerable regions in the world.

 

SolDevelo created the Concept Dictionary OWA – a dictionary of medical terms which stores terms describing diseases, drugs, diagnoses, tests, procedures, other questions and potential answers, including measures defining the patient’s condition. Thanks to it, it becomes possible to manage dictionary medical terms (medical concepts) from the level of the new user interface. It allows collecting data in a simple and standardized way. And this saves time and effort for the healthcare workers in the developing world.

 

In addition, the SolDevelo team created a library of UI (User Interface) components. Thanks to this library, all of the new modules for the OpenMRS system has the uniform feel and greatly improve the experience of the users while using the new feature. It can be used when creating new Open Web Apps for OpenMRS in AngularJS, which is one of the most modern and popular technologies.

 

What was the impact of this work?

 

  • Modern solutions were delivered to OpenMRS
  • New technologies were implemented, commonly used in developed countries
  • The more intuitive and friendly system was introduced to facilitate non-developers using the OpenMRS system
  • Unified interface and modernized look & feel, lowered the barrier to entry for identifying new developers capable of working with OpenMRS without Java expertise
  • The system has become easier to modify for developers, which increased efficiency, helping developers creating new applications and features.
  • Costs of system maintenance have lowered
  • Modern front-end tools were introduced for OpenMRS developers, which attracted more contributors