Electronic Medical Record Keeping: Eleven Years Experience at Life Support Eye Clinic, Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: To rep ort the su ccess of a p ap erless med ical record system in a small clinic in a d evelop ing economy and to highlight the ad vantages and challenges of electronic med ical record keep ing, even with a small bu d get. Method: The concept of electronic med ical record (EMR) as a record keep ing method at Life Sup p ort Eye Clinic was born out of necessity in 1998. The ever-growing need for storage sp ace for p atients’ case files in a small tworoom caravan clinic promp ted the move toward s a p ap erless filing method to maximize the available sp ace for clinical p roced u res. Two comp u ters were purchased – one for the consulting room and another for the registration d esk. An information technology consultant d evelop ed the electronic med ical record software u sing Lotu s Notes and created the network between the two compu ters u sing cables. H e also trained staff m embers in the u se of the new comp u ter system. That was the beginning of the conversion process from a p ap er filing system to the EMR system. The time frame of conversion was two years, which was realized in year 2000. Results: Life Sup p ort Eye Clinic got rid of all p ap er files for p atient record s and all p atient information was stored electronically with the attend ing resu lts of faster retrieval of information, ease of follow-u p of p atients and bill tracking, elimination of mistakes that sometimes occu r from bad handwriting, ease of d ata collation for research pu rp oses, and long-term cost effectiveness, d u e to elimination of p rinting and p ap er costs. Privacy and secu rity of p atient information was ensu red throu gh the secu re comp uter cod e to which only au thorized staff members had access. Conclusion: The experience of Life Supp ort Eye Clinic in the u se of EMR over 11 years reveals the p ossibility, benefits, and efficacy of this technologically-advanced method of patient record keeping in a developing country.

Key words: electronic medical record s, computer, software, privacy