Student Run Clinics Using OpenMRS Implementation

Ask OpenMRS
1

Background

Hi all, new to OpenMRS but I would really like to give it a shot.

I am working on creating and consolidating medical student-run checkups and wellness clinics to help prevent Diabetes and HTN in West Indies. If I should ask this somewhere else, please feel free to redirect. Apologies for any inconvenience.

For this, I want to record patient data and be able to extract it (de-identified for research) but also be able to present it to pts. so they have a continuous record of their encounters no matter which student clinic they went to (aka various locations).

Question:

  1. Can I implement the OpenMRS to boot from USB etc so I can have students boot into an OS like Linux or something and run the OpenMRS for the two hours the clinics are on their device?

  2. How can I then combine the data collected if (1) is possible? If not what would be a better way to do this?

  3. How can I extract the data from the database directly? I have SQL experience and the cohort reporting I followed on the documentation seems to use similar syntax. I just would prefer if I could run the reports at the DB level to confirm the cohort reporting is accurate for when I do data extraction for research.

2

Update I’m thinking of using a bootable linux USB to turn my MacBook or any device into a linux server. Run the OpenMRS from this device and share portal access for others working at the clinics to access the webportal via HTTPS over a local connection. So all data would be stored on the one machine running the server linux and everyone else is inputing outpatient visit information to that location.

This still leaves me with the issue of accessing and mapping the SQL DB so I can be sure I’m capturing the information I want and backup as needed. Any ideas how to go about this?

Also with the USB linux server install (following this guide: https://www.unixmen.com/install-openmrs-open-medical-record-system-ubuntu-14-04-lts-server/) I wonder if I can put the DB on another USB device? This way I can backup the entire DB via mirroring and store in a separate safe location for use in emergencies.

I don’t know enough about OpenMRS and linux to be honest, I use mostly windows and mac os x systems. But I will try to see if this setup is feasible at all.

Essentially I’m trying to run this project as low cost as possible and as quickly as possible to demonstrate that it works especially for an impoverished community.

3

Have you simply tried using the OpenMRS standalone application? I run them on my Mac all the time. If you are running a student offline application, I wouldn’t think you need a production grade server.

4

Ideally I would like it to be setup so multiple users doing intake can deposit the information into one device (so figure web portal for this is useful). Also I am trying to make it so that other clubs can use the same setup and at the end we would have a consolidated database of everyone seen by different clubs etc. I am trying the standalone application now to see how it fares. I’ll re update soon! Thank you!