RESUMO
A large clinical care and research organization in Haiti required an electronic medical record system (EMR) to serve the needs of its 30 interlinked clinical programs. After assessing available open source software, the local team designed and implemented a modular proprietary EMR that is improving data quality and patient care. Despite the many benefits of existing open source medical record systems, clinical centers with complex workflow patterns--even those in resource-limited settings--should consider developing sustainable, local systems that fit their care model.
Assuntos
Sistemas de Informação em Laboratório Clínico/organização & administração , Prestação Integrada de Cuidados de Saúde/organização & administração , Registros Eletrônicos de Saúde/organização & administração , Infecções por HIV/terapia , Registro Médico Coordenado/métodos , Testes Imediatos/organização & administração , Infecções por HIV/diagnóstico , Haiti , Humanos , Sistemas de Registro de Ordens Médicas/organização & administração , Modelos Organizacionais , Interface Usuário-ComputadorRESUMO
The current study was conducted in Port au Prince, Haiti, to determine if information collected at HIV notification during voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) can predict patients' future adherence with risk reduction counseling and medical referral. Case histories describe HIV-infected patients with signs of depression during counseling who do not return for medical care, and women afraid of economic ruin and domestic violence who do not notify their sexual partners. Quantitative predictors of seeking medical care include: denial at the announcement of HIV test results (odds ratio [OR] 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.1-0.6), belief that HIV can be transmitted by magic (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3-0.9), and having symptoms at the time of HIV testing (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.6-2.3). Predictors of refusal to notify sexual partner of HIV status include: being poor (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.5), female (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.7-2.5), and belief that HIV can be transmitted by magic (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.9-2.6) In conclusion, information collected during HIV counseling and testing can predict patients' future adherence with counseling and medical referral. Counselors can use information such as signs of severe depression, economic hardship, and denial of HIV disease to identify patients at risk for nonadherence and to provide them with specialized counseling and care.