E-Art: An Assisted Reproductive Technology Information System for Infertility Management in Low Resource Settings

Research Question: How an electronic medical record E-ART was designed and implemented for the monitoring and management of infertile couples in Dakar, Senegal? Design: The study was carried out in the scenario of a public hospital of a reference university maternity hospital in Senegal, a private clinic, anda lab practice. The compilation of data for the automatic calculation of performance indicators and its transcription to a standard in electronic form was carried out by specialists in Gynecology-Obstetrics, Biologists, and Computer Scientists. Results: E-ART software is structured around several hierarchical tables allowing users to register and store all relevant patients’ information. E-ART structures the patient’s data to provide a clear overview of their medical history and users’ activity performance. E-ART makes medical users’ life so much easier. Users can generate and send letters, prescriptions quickly and efficiently using the customized templates which they can modify or create. In addition to these capabilities, all of the features expected in an Assisted Reproductive technology EHR are handled by E-ART, such as ovarian stimulation monitoring, blood test measurements, egg retrieval, embryo culture, embryo transfer and so much more. E-ART makes it possible to manage all stages from ovarian stimulation to embryo transfer. The E-ART software also allows to generating reports and statistics according to customized templates and those of ANARA. Conclusion: The computerization of medical records has become a necessity today. An area as sensitive as the management of infertility and ART techniques cannot escape to it. Crossing the line to Electronic medical records could help assess practices in order to improve them.