Supporting COVID-19 Data Exchange Needs

Supporting COVID-19 Data Exchange Needs

  • LocationKenya and Uganda
  • ImplementationApril 2020 - June 2021

Global Goods collaborate to meet country needs in COVID case reporting and data exchange

Instant OpenHIE and OpenHIM collaborated to use their global goods to support COVID case reporting and lab data exchange in an expedited format while also meeting the unique needs of a country’s specific context.

This solution also needed to address the following criteria:

  • Support sharing of COVID-19 case reporting and lab data to a central FHIR server and DHIS2
  • Enable support for lab data exchange with minimal impact to existing systems
  • Ensure the solution is adaptable based on country needs
  • Be standards-based using the COVID FHIR IG and the DHIS2 COVID-19 package
PROJECT CONTRIBUTORS

OpenHIM

Instant OpenHIE

Digital Square

Jembi

IntelliSOFT

The Impact

  • Monitoring and Surveillance

    Better able to understand COVID-19 monitoring and surveillance activities as part of national responses

  • COVID-19 Data

    Better able to understand digital technologies being used to collect, manage or analyse COVID-19 related data.

  • Approaches

    Better able to understand successes or challenges with current or planned approaches and digital technologies in use.

What's Next?

What's Next?

This solution also presents opportunities for future investments in expanding the OpenMRS OHRI distribution to support the COVID use case.

Approach

The Approach

In Kenya, IntelliSOFT obtained information from various institutions to validate the desk review findings, and engage in deep dive conversations about the COVID-19 case management and lab diagnostics services. 

In Uganda, the Central Public Health Laboratory which is part of the MOH, developed an app (RESTRACK-UG) to track the movement of the collected COVID-19 samples from the collection point to the testing laboratory. 

Once the samples are tested and the results obtained, all the COVID-19 accredited testing laboratories in Uganda upload their results into an online electronic Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

The MOH with support from HISP Uganda, enhanced the DHIS2 powered eIDSR by configuring it to support COVID-19 case investigation data needs. Uganda DHIS2 tracker based eIDSR has been configured to capture case notification, investigation, lab integration and case management for COVID-19. 

Additionally, the MOH also expanded the use of eIDSR at the country’s Points of Entry to ensure that data capture needs including travelers’ tracking has also been added to eIDSR.

MOH representatives from both countries indicated that with additional support from their partners, they strongly advocate for use of their national EMR systems (KenyaEMR and UgandaEMR) to manage COVID-19 cases (including their lab testing and results data). They also clearly stated that they will support digital health technologies that implement standards endorsed by the MOH, and that work within the confines of their policy frameworks. Both countries have endorsed use of OpenHIE as the guiding approach for implementing interoperability of MOH electronic data systems.

As a result of these efforts, teams are now able to better understand the existing or planned measures of:

  • COVID-19 monitoring and surveillance activities as part of national responses.
  • Digital technologies being used to collect, manage or analyse COVID-19 related data.
  • Successes or challenges with current or planned approaches and digital technologies in use.
The Approach
  • Electronic Medical Record
    Electronic Medical Record
  • Interoperability Layer
    Interoperability Layer
  • Lab System
    Lab System
  • OPENHIE CAPABAILITIES
    • Patient identity management
    • Health terminology and metadata management
    • Exchange of lab requests and results
    • Health worker and patient alerting
    • Disease surveillance and reporting 
    • Facility planning and management
    • Unique identification of health workers
  • HEALTH ISSUES ADDRESSED
    • Population and Public Health
  • OPENHIE WORKFLOWS
    • Export aggregate data
    • Validate and save aggregate data
    • Query health worker and/or facility records workflow
    • Query care services records workflow
    • Patient demographic record workflow
    • Save patient-level clinical data workflow