Fast EMR: An Online and Offline Mobile Electronic Medical Record for Disaster Settings

Abstract

Introduction:The absence of clinical information in the aftermath of disasters in resource-constrained environments costs lives. fEMR– fast Electronic Medical Records–is a medical records system designed for mobile clinics and has proven useful in post-disaster settings. While the original version of the system was developed for areas without access to the Internet, a new version of this system was developed in 2019 to accommodate regions with connectivity.Method:We reviewed the design, implementation, and usage of fEMR from June 2014 to October 2022. We used logged data of the number of users, patient encounters, and the circumstances of each deployment. We compared usage between the original fEMR system and fEMR-on-chain.Results:The original fEMR system was created in an iterative process by students in Computer Science classes at three different American universities. The system creates a closed intranet signal to which clinicians connect their own device to access the software. The hardware is transported to the medical team in a carry-on suitcase prior to deployment. All data are stored on a laptop that acts as a server. The online version, fEMR On-Chain, was developed under a grant, but is sustained in development through academic partnerships. Both versions are designed so that the provider can complete an encounter with as few clicks as possible and with as little input as necessary to identify patients.The original fEMR system has been deployed to mobile clinics worldwide since 2014. The system has about 14,181 patients and 16,021 clinical encounters from 12 different countries. fEMR On-Chain has been deployed to refugee and migrant settings since 2019, containing about 18,000 patients and 22,000 encounters in two different countries.Conclusion:Successive versions of the fEMR system have been used in a variety of conditions and settings, with usage accelerating since 2019 in refugee and migrant health centers.