2017 ICT4D Conference

160,000+ refugees, one hospital, five health clinics, 1,500+ patients per day, no internet, limited electricity, too many paper records, and one ambitious goal – implement an electronic medical record (EMR) and inventory management system at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya.

Join us as we explore the challenges faced during the implementation – from the lack of physical and telecommunications infrastructure to the complexities of replacing a paper-based system – and how cutting edge technology and creative processes were applied to solve them.

Vecna Cares' EMR is a hardware and software solution featuring a modular-based software platform, collecting health activities from each ward into a centralized database at the facility level. It is powered by the CliniPAK, a solar powered local server and power management system optimized for use in ultra low-resource environments. CliniPAK syncs wi-fi enabled data collection devices on a local access network using an internal wi-fi connection, enabling real-time data collection, management, and analysis that will link to a comprehensive camp level database to facilitate automated report generation.

The presentation will analyze our experience designing, building, implementing, and supporting the electronic medical records system at Kakuma. It will focus on three key areas with an emphasis on lessons learned and how our experience can benefit other practitioners. First, what are the challenges in adapting human-centered design and traditional software development life-cycle concepts to low-resource areas in remote settings? Second, what considerations need to be made when designing and developing hardware and software for use in a low infrastructure setting like a refugee camp? Third, how can organizations prepare for and successfully execute moving a complex set of operations from paper to the digital realm?