Did you know that Bless Back has its own customized Electronic Medical Records system? We’ve been on the cutting edge of medicine in Haiti and Nicaragua since 2014 when we established the use of digitized medical charts. In most developing countries, medical records are a low priority, but any good doctor will tell you that accurate patient data is vital to effective care. After unsuccessful attempts to maintain a paper charting system in our clinics, some of our faithful volunteers, John and Susan Davenport, set up a digital system using a commercial program. We immediately saw the benefits of being able to collaborate across the miles about diagnoses and treatments, oversee clinic functions and track patient demographics. Our patient care improved, especially for those with chronic conditions, with the ability to consistently prescribe and monitor. Within a few years, our EMR system housed over 20,000 patient records for our clinics in Haiti and Nicaragua.
When our commercial program’s use was discontinued in 2018, we were initially disappointed, but soon saw an opportunity to create a system that was even better! Our leadership team, along with Rusty Secrist of Secrist Solutions, designed a program that perfectly suits our needs. The new system is configured to hold exactly the data our clinic needs, while being user-friendly and intuitive. We have the added benefits now of tracking inventory in our pharmacy and creating custom reports to monitor clinic functions. Our EMR program continues to be a key component in the quality patient care our clinics provide.
