OpenMRS is an open source medical record system platform designed for use in developing countries. It has a central concept dictionary that defines data collected and allows interoperability. Key features include form design and entry, a modular architecture, and support for standards and internationalization. The OpenMRS platform is community-driven and has evolved based on real needs, with contributions from around the globe. It can be used for clinical care, research, and as a shared health record, and various modules and tools expand its functionality for areas like analysis, reporting, and interoperability.

1. OpenMRS
The first few steps
Suranga Nath Kasthurirathne

2. What we’ll cover
• What is OpenMRS?
• OpenMRS overview
• Feature list and how-to’s
• Apps and tools that work with OpenMRS
• Interacting with OpenMRS

3. What is OpenMRS?
• A community that drives the development of a
software system
What is the OpenMRS platform?
• An open source medical record system
platform designed specifically for use across
developing countries
• Distributed under Mozilla Public License, v. 2.0
• Initiated in 2004, first implemented in 2006

4. Who uses OpenMRS?
https://atlas.openmrs.org/

5. What is OpenMRS used for?
• For clinical care (duh!)
• As a teaching tool
• For research (everywhere!)
• As a Shared Health Record (Rwanda)
• As a Terminology Registry (Bangladesh HIE)
• For Notifiable Condition Detection (United
States)

6. Can I try out the system?
• Public Demo: demo.openmrs.org
• OpenMRS standalone
• Set it up on your machine
– Apache tomcat
– MySQL

7. A Technical Overview

8. Key features
• Central concept dictionary
• Form design and entry
• Modular architecture
• Data import export
• Support for standards
• Localization / internationalization

9. The evolution of OpenMRS
• Driven by real, and not perceived needs
• A wide variety of contributors from all parts of
the globe
• Focusing on what we’re good at

10. Features: OpenMRS concept dictionary
• A fundamental building block of OpenMRS
• Used to define data collected by OpenMRS
• Makes data useable across
– Different healthcare applications
– Different provider networks
– Different tongues

11. The MVP/CIEL concept dictionary
• MVP: Millennium Villages Project
• CIEL: Columbia International eHealth
Laboratory
• Default concept dictionary
• Mappings to multiple terminology sets

14. Data Collection forms
• HTML form entry Vs. xforms entry
• HTML form entry for web based forms
• xforms for mobile based systems
• Both leverage the concept dictionary
• The form bank: Open Source forms!
https://wiki.openmrs.org/display/RES/Form+Bank

17. Analysis and Reporting
• OpenMRS Reporting module
– Row-per domain reports
– Indicator reports

18. Row Per Domain

19. Indicator Reports

20. REST web services
• Driven by the need to support SOA
• Extensively used and mature
• Uses
– OpenMRS Android Client
– OpenMRS iOS Client

23. Interoperability Support
• HlL7 V2 - Extensive
• HL7 V3 - Limited
• FHIR – Extensive, and coordinated
• The OpenMRS FHIR module
– OAuth support
– Support for many widely used resources

24. The OpenMRS World

25. What are OpenMRS modules?
• Your path to extending OpenMRS!
• Can be used for branding, adding new
features, or changing existing features
• Large number of modules already developed
• Community maintained modules vs. others

26. The OpenMRS Reference Application
• A state of the art implementation of
OpenMRS, which may serve as a solid base for
new implementations
• Introduces shiny new UI
• Introduces the concept of Apps

28. Location based Login

30. Role based home page

37. • An OpenMRS distribution
• An open source hospital system for low
resource settings
• Combines three different Open source
systems

38. The OpenMRS eco-system

39. Working with a Master Patient Index
(MPI)
• What / Why MPI?
• Uses PIX / PDQ query to integrate
– PIX: Patient Identity Cross-referencing profile
– PDQ: The Patient Demographics Query
– OpenEMPI
– MedicCR

41. What if you want to send out
reminders to patients?
• So many ways to do this!
• RapidSMS
– RapidSMS is a free and open-source framework
for rapidly building mobile services for scale.
– RapidSMS is built with Python and Django
https://www.rapidsms.org/

42. What if you want to report to a public
registry?
• The Notifiable Condition Detection module
–Listens to incoming HL7 messages
–Evaluates HL7 data
–Performs appropriate actions based on
findings

43. Connecting to DHIS2
• In case you want aggregate data…
• Multiple options, in various stages of use

44. What if Patients needed to move
between clinics?
• Health Information Exchange (HIE)
• What is OpenHIE?

46. OpenMRS and the SMART Platform
• What is SMART?
– Front end apps for any EHR system
– “Write once, run anywhere”
https://gallery.smarthealthit.org/

48. OpenMRS and the OHDSI
• What is OHDSI?
– Collaboration to make better use of observational
data
– Large scale analytics
– Multiple disciplines
• Clinical medicine
• Biostatistics
• Epidemiology

50. Interacting with the OpenMRS
community
• Chat: IRC #openmrs
• Discuss: talk.openmrs.org
• Read / edit: wiki.openmrs.org
• Report: issues.openmrs.org
• Weekly meetings:
https://wiki.openmrs.org/display/RES/Weekly+Meetings
surangak@openmrs.org

51. OpenMRS Dev. stuff
• Source Code: https://github.com/openmrs
• Bamboo :
https://ci.openmrs.org/allPlans.action

52. Questions

53. Thank you!