Migrating Patient data and records from MS Access to OpenMRS

Implementing
1

I am currently working on migrating data from MS Access to OpenMRS.

My thinking is as follows:

  1. Export the data from MS Access to MySQL (done)

  2. Options:

  • Migrate the data into FHIR then import it into OpenMRS using a Bhamni administration console
  • Transform the data tables into OpenMRS format

I am leaning towards the FHIR route because it means that the process can be repeated for other sources.

Any other ideas and options that have been tried and are reproduceable, repeatable?

2

We’ve been using this. @valvijo is the expert on this tool.

1 Like
3

@ssmusoke that sounds like a pretty complicated process, that leaves quite a bit of room for error.

I would like to see a set of scripts or utilities that take CSV input and can upload/import them to OpenMRS. The CSV would be something you can repeat. (Ideally you can lead an effort to create this as a shared library. Or even better would be if the link that Pascal shared is already such a library.)

4

@pascal @valvijo what is the expected schema for the files.

@darius CSV is the simplest and easiest, why not a FHIR based output since it can easily be imported into OpenMRS - from a design call I remember Bhamni already has some implementation, and in the future can be used to share and move patient data between installations?

5

CSV is easier to produce for an average-skilled person trying to get data from another system. FHIR is quite a bit more complicated, and also it’s possible to express the same thing in multiple ways, hence more room for error.

It depends how sophisticated the system you are migrating data from is. If it’s an EHR then maybe FHIR if a better way to express its data. If it’s a simple registry, FHIR is probably overkill.

Maybe an even better approach is to combine:

  1. Document a few FHIR templates that can be used to reliably load OpenMRS with patients, visits, encounters. If it’s feasible for the person doing the work, they can directly produce this format.

  2. Define a simpler CSV format, and a script to transform from this CSV to your FHIR format. When directly producing FHIR is not feasible, go via this CSV format.

-Darius (by phone)

6

You create an Excel spreadsheet that specifies the mapping. There is some documentation from @valvijo in a repo that @ch3ck created here.

7

@darius I would like to explore this more at the conference in December (hope that you are coming) would you be interested in having a brainstorming unconference session on this?

8

I’ll be at the conference in Uganda.

-Darius (by phone)