A Framework to Enhance Patients Electronic Health Records Sharing

Abstract

In Uganda, the healthcare system experiences tremendous challenges during sharing patients' health information records. This is due to limited systems inter-connectivity and low technology penetration rate across the country. This study developed a framework for integrating referral hospitals with their associated community-based health facilities in Uganda into a centralized data scheme. The framework aims to provide an integrated and centralized platform that will sufficiently support the operations of health facilities in Uganda by creating a secure data transmission channel and enabling remote access to patients' electronic health records by patients and medical practitioners. The researchers reviewed literature about the existing framework used to share patients' electronic health records and collected data from participants to derive requirements that were used to design and develop the framework. We developed and deployed a web system that was used to test and validate the framework.  Study contributions include a designed framework guiding tool for validating electronic health record systems before deployment in the health facility to improve information sharing. Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA1) and Message-Digest Algorithm 5 (MD5) encryption techniques were used to perform data encryption during information transfer to ensure confidentiality and data integrity