Developing a National-Level Concept Dictionary for EHR Implementations in Kenya.
The increasing adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by developing countries comes with the need to develop common terminology standards to assure semantic interoperability. In Kenya, where the Ministry of Health has rolled out an EHR at 646 sites, several challenges have emerged including variable dictionaries across implementations, inability to easily share data across systems, lack of expertise in dictionary management, lack of central coordination and custody of a terminology service, inadequately defined policies and processes, insufficient infrastructure, among others. A Concept Working Group was constituted to address these challenges. The country settled on a common Kenya data dictionary, initially derived as a subset of the Columbia International eHealth Laboratory (CIEL)/Millennium Villages Project (MVP) dictionary. The initial dictionary scope largely focuses on clinical needs. Processes and policies around dictionary management are being guided by the framework developed by Bakhshi-Raiez et al. Technical and infrastructure-based approaches are also underway to streamline workflow for dictionary management and distribution across implementations. Kenya's approach on comprehensive common dictionary can serve as a model for other countries in similar settings.
Academic Model Proving Access to Healthcare(AMPATH), Eldoret, Kenya.
Aggrey
A
Keny
International Training and Education Centre (ITECH)-Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya.
Steven
S
Wanyee
The Kenya Medical Research Institute / Centers for Disease Control (KEMRI-CDC), Nairobi, Kenya.
Daniel
D
Kwaro
KEMRI-UCSF Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES), Kisumu, Kenya.
Edwin
E
Mulwa
Academic Model Proving Access to Healthcare(AMPATH), Eldoret, Kenya.
Martin C
MC
Were
D057191:Capacity Building; D003906:Developing Countries; D004018:Dictionaries, Medical as Topic; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007630:Kenya; D016730:Program Development; D009626:Terminology as Topic