Validation of UgandaEMR Forms Using The Form Builder Feature
Before deploying forms for use by healthcare providers, it’s crucial for EMR implementers to undertake a comprehensive testing process to ensure these forms operate correctly and capture necessary information. This process includes validation of key functionalities such as form saving, editing, and viewing behaviors.
Flagging of Form Errors
Initially part of the OHRI form render test (Fig 1), the validation feature was recently incorporated into the form builder following consensus at the REACT Form Engine hackathon in Uganda in April 2024. This update enhances the tool’s effectiveness for implementers.
As a proof of concept, UCSF applied the validator on UgandaEMR forms to verify their functionality. During this exercise, absence of essential concepts on some of the UgandaEMR forms was identified as a notable issue. The validation feature identified all the questions whose concepts were missing in the form (Fig 2 & Fig 3).
- Fig 1: OHRI Form Render Test
- Fig 2: UgandaEMR form errors summary after Validation
- Fig 3: UgandaEMR form errors after Validation
Resolution of Form Errors
The Uganda Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Support (METs) team reviewed the flagged issues and applied the necessary fixes. The team resolved the issue of the missing concepts. Further, the team identified areas to improve the tool. For instance, the tool incorrectly identified mismatches between a “coded” datatype and a “multiCheckbox” control type. This should not have been flagged as the “coded” datatype and a “multiCheckbox” control type are actually compatible.
Improvement of Form Builder Validator
UCSF is currently fixing the validator to ensure it does not erroneously flag issues that ought not to be flagged in the first place.
Re-validation of the forms
We recommend that a re-run of the validation on the forms once the issues are fixed to confirm that all identified issues have been resolved and to ensure no new errors have been introduced in the form. Systematically addressing the flags raised by the validation feature will ensure that the the forms are well-suited to capture high-quality data.