At CURE International Children’s Hospitals, every detail matters. The healing journey is long and challenging for many families who come through the doors. A child may need several surgeries, years of follow-up appointments, and ongoing therapy.
In the past, this journey was documented in paper files that had the potential to be misplaced or become incomplete. This was a regular challenge for the doctors to overcome. Recognising this challenge, CURE International recently embraced an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system to carefully document every step of a child’s journey, safeguard their care, and give families the confidence that nothing will be overlooked in their path to healing.
An EMR system is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart, used within a single healthcare provider’s office or facility. It stores a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, and other relevant information, allowing healthcare providers to access and manage this data electronically. Introducing an EMR has enabled CURE’s medical teams to strengthen the quality and consistency of care across its network of children’s hospitals. From tracking medical histories to ensuring timely treatments, accuracy and coordination are all essential to providing safe and effective care.
By replacing paper files with a secure digital platform, the EMR system helps doctors and nurses access complete patient information, reduce errors, and streamline each child’s healthcare journey. It also strengthens communication across CURE’s hospital network, enabling the sharing of best practices, analysing outcomes, and providing consistent, high-quality care. For children who often require long-term treatment and multiple procedures, the EMR system ensures nothing is overlooked, empowering medical teams and families with clear, reliable information.
Advancing EMR Through Collaboration
To build on this foundation, CURE International recently held a three-day EMR Phase 2 Prioritisation Workshop here at CURE Children’s Hospital of Zambia. The workshop drew key user representatives from all eight CURE hospitals and CURE’s Mission Support Centre in the USA. It marked a strategic chapter in advancing the effectiveness of EMR systems, a vital tool in improving patient care and streamlining hospital operations.
The workshop provided a platform for EMR champions to share experiences, explore challenges, and identify practical solutions tailored to each hospital’s context. A significant achievement was the identification of key documents and notifications that should be integrated at different stages of a patient’s healthcare journey. These additions are designed to enhance accuracy, ensure continuity of care, and ultimately improve the overall patient experience at CURE hospitals.
“The EMR system is a great asset to our hospitals. Among the key innovations under consideration are safety checklists with dual-provider acknowledgement, optimised ward rounds workflows to improve efficiency, variable dosage electronic prescriptions, and tracking of Smile Train submissions for faster reimbursement of cleft surgeries.” Kevin de Smidt, CURE International’s Chief Techology Officer, said, “These upgrades will not only boost clinician efficiency through streamlined interfaces but also raise CURE hospitals’ SafeCare scores, ensuring safer, more comprehensive care for patients while reducing the risks of error-prone paper processes.”
“Staff adoption of EMR improvements is driven by hands-on, role-specific training, clear documentation, and continuous support. We prioritise gathering feedback and appointing EMR champions in each department to ensure engagement and build confidence in the system. Adapting workflows to different clinical contexts and overcoming challenges like infrastructure and language diversity can be complex, but cross-hospital training helps us standardise practices. This consistency promotes accurate data capture, strengthens decision-making, and allows CURE hospitals to scale best practices across the network,” said Rhoda Obonyo, EMR Training Manager at CURE International.
Daniel’s Story: Restoring Confidence with the Support of EMR
For eleven-year-old Daniel, coming to CURE Zambia has been a journey of hope and healing. After losing his father, Daniel faced another heartbreaking challenge, a mysterious growth on his nose that began as a small pimple. Over time, the condition worsened, shattering his confidence and keeping him from fully enjoying his childhood.
Daniel has required several procedures and ongoing follow-up care. In the past, keeping track of his medical history would have meant carrying paper files, test results, and surgical notes from one appointment to the next. Essential details could easily have been misplaced or delayed.
Today, thanks to the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system, every stage of Daniel’s treatment is carefully recorded and instantly accessible to his care team. Doctors can review his full medical history from his initial surgery to follow-up therapies with just a few clicks. With his medical history securely recorded and instantly available, the surgical team had the information they needed to plan and carry out life-changing plastic surgery to reconstruct Daniel’s nose. This continuity ensures that nothing is overlooked, saves his family from repeating tests, and gives them confidence that his progress is monitored closely.
“I felt at peace knowing the doctors always have the right information about my son. It made me trust the care he received even more,” said Rose, Daniel’s mother.
Daniel’s experience perfectly captures the impact of an efficient EMR system transforming not just data management, but the lives of children and families who depend on CURE’s compassionate care.
None of this would be possible without the support of CURE’s generous friends, partners, and donors, who go above and beyond to ensure that CURE can continue helping kids heal!
Together, we can help even more children like Daniel receive the treatment and equipment they desperately need. Will you join us? Please consider giving a gift today to help more children like Daniel, who are waiting for life-changing care at CURE.
About the Beit-CURE Children’s Hospital of Zambia
Established in 2006, CURE Zambia performs over 2,500 life-changing reconstructive, orthopedic, ENT, and audiological surgeries each year for children suffering from treatable disabilities. Strategically located in Lusaka, the teaching hospital comprises six buildings, 54 beds, and three operating theatres. In addition to world-class clinical service, CURE Zambia ministers to the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their communities. The Beit Trust, a UK-based charity, provided the funding for this facility as a centennial gift to the people of Zambia. CURE Zambia is a strategic partner with the Ministry of Health.
