OpenMRS is a high quality, open source, integrated EMR platform aimed at resource-constrained settings where structured patient record keeping systems (specifically, electronic medical record systems) can improve health outcomes. The Open Medical Record System (OpenMRS) was created in 2004 in response to an identified need for efficient data and information management to support enhanced care delivery and help achieve health equity in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). OpenMRS is a scalable, modular, open-sourced platform used by institutions and nations across the globe to build customized medical record systems that can meet the needs of varied situations. Over the past decade, the OpenMRS community has become a robust organization of developers, implementers and users actively building and supporting life saving health systems worldwide. As OpenMRS continues its growth in over 80 countries to date, it increasingly is recognized as a de-facto EMR standard, supported by the OpenMRS community. Despite financial constraints, OpenMRS has continued to provide technical updates to the OpenMRS content and software platform on a routine basis. OpenMRS functionality continues to be slowly enhanced and our community continues to be actively engaged. Up to this point, most roadmap setting and prioritization has been driven by our vibrant development community. However, implementers and users in LMIC are
often hard to reach and engage. These important stakeholders have not been as visible to the OpenMRS development community due to inconsistent outreach by OpenMRS, a lack of communication strategies that appeal to those who are non-developers and in the field, and a perception that OpenMRS is solely a developer community primarily focused on software development. OpenMRS seeks to further develop our products and services into a highly functional digital health software global good and, as a result, actively contributes to the global good milieu. We request support to improve our organizational efficiency and responsiveness through hiring resources to lead several core activities. Our maturity is reflected in our self evaluation for this application for Digital Square resourcing, using the Digital Health Software maturity matrix. Our self analysis reveals the competency and capacity of our organization and products, as well as potential areas for improvement. The OpenMRS community has identified core outcomes from fiscal support:
1. Increased implementer community engagement
2. Improved software roadmap
3. Expanded user and technical documentation
4. Curated and enhanced education curriculum and materials