The rural hospital context is distinct in many ways, and healthcare in Africa faces unique obstacles that are not met in urban settings. Rural hospitals in Africa are likely to be small, with a limited number of providers and a limited number of medical practitioners. Rural hospitals in Africa also have a larger proportion of uninsured patients and lower payment rates for services provided to them.
This has resulted in a disproportionate provision of better and more integrated health services to rural populations, denying them access to better healthcare.
The benefits of EHR systems
Rural hospitals in Africa should be more reliant on electronic health records (EHRs) than urban hospitals because they may not have as many specialized physicians or nurses available to provide care. As a result, rural hospital EHR systems can be critical to improving patient safety and reducing medical errors in rural and urban hospitals.
9 Crucial EHR Features for Rural Hospitals to Strive
Rural hospitals in Africa are facing many challenges in providing quality care to their patients. One of the major challenges is the lack of healthcare providers, and another one is the lack of access to high-quality medical records.
The need for better healthcare infrastructure in rural areas has led to the development of an EHR system that can provide a centralized, secure, and accessible repository for medical records. Today, there are many different types of EHR systems available on the market.
We have selected six crucial features that should be present in any EHR system designed for rural hospitals:
- Accessibility
- Security
- Offline capability
- Telehealth & Patient’s portal
- Ease of use for providers and patients
- Cost-effective
- Comprehensive data collection of patient medical information
- Efficient data management and sharing
- Seamless communication between allied practitioners and patients
Accessibility
The hospital must be able to connect remotely with specialists who can provide timely treatment and consults when needed.
Security
Security is a critical concern for any system. Rural hospitals would benefit greatly from an EHR system that includes security features that prevent patients’ data from falling into the wrong hands. At the end of the day, if there isn’t a solid security mechanism in place to guard against outside attackers, sensitive patient data will be compromised
Offline capability
As we all know, the internet in Africa remains unreliable; thus, an EHR with offline capability would naturally fit into the day-to-day practice of rural hospitals allowing medical practitioners to deliver better, coordinated medical care for their patients even if there is no internet access.
Telehealth & Patient Portal
Rural hospitals are at a disadvantage because they are far away from the nearest town and have limited resources. This puts them at risk of not being able to provide the best care for their patients. Telehealth and a patient portal would help to solve this problem by providing access to services that would otherwise be unavailable, such as answering urgent patient concerns, seamless communication between patients and medical practitioners, and providing convenient options for diagnosis and treatment. By reducing the number of patients who need to travel long distances for care, rural hospitals can focus on caring for their local communities.
Ease of use for providers and patients
The simplicity of use of the EHR for physicians and patients is crucial. Medical service providers should be able to utilise the system without trouble to diagnose and treat patients in real-time, and patients should be able to readily grasp their options and the process, as well as schedule an appointment and access their patient portal to view their medical records.
An EHR that is simple and easy to use would allow rural hospitals to strive and offer exceptional medical services to their patient.
Cost-effective
Rural hospitals do not have the same resources and funding as larger hospitals, which means that they need to find a cost-effective EHR for their needs.
Some of the factors that are taken into consideration when choosing an EHR system include cost. A cost-effective EHR system with modest budgetary needs would be ideal for use in a rural hospital.