Our Story
What is Outreach EMR?
Outreach EMR is a not for profit, non-sectarian, North Yorkshire based charity in the UK, incorporated as a charity in November 2014 and committed to empowering local people to achieve sustainable health care using an electronic medical records system.
Our Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system was founded when Dr Peter Smith returned to Yorkshire after working in Africa and collaborated with a local software development and IT support business owner. It helps communities improve their lives and achieve The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Wellbeing by providing the necessary software and training.
Our funding to date is largely from personal donations and fundraising in the York and North Yorkshire area. Visit our Fundraising and Events page for more details or click the button at the top left of this page to make a donation.
Why is it needed?
Without proper medical records, doctors and clinicians are working in the dark. EMRs help to track diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia. Steps can then be taken to prevent diseases spreading.
There is virtually no effective electronic transfer of medical data from Primary Care clinics to Ministries of Health in many poor and middle-income countries around the world. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the challenges this brings. Paper-based records can take over a month to be collated at a Ministry of Health, when there is overwhelming evidence that instant, accurate data transfer of medical records saves lives. Many developed countries use the universally available health informatics system, DHIS2, the world’s largest Health Management Information System (HMIS). We have now developed an interface with DHIS2.
The Clinics
Outreach EMR is working in 23 clinics in nine of the poorest countries in the world (2024).
Our systems are currently used in Uganda, Haiti, Nicaragua, Philippines, Zambia, India, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of Congo and Jordan.
You can read about some of the clinics using our system on our Projects page
Map of Clinic Locations
