Coded Conversations

SNOMED CT+ the Bahmni Coalition: Open-source electronic medical record makes digital health tech available in low-resource settings globally


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SNOMED CT + the Bahmni Coalition: Open-source electronic medical record makes digital health tech available in low-resource settings globally

Episode 04: Show Notes

The mission of SNOMED International, the not-for-profit organization that owns, administers and develops SNOMED CT, the world’s most comprehensive clinical terminology, is to develop a global language for health -- uniting health systems from around the world and enabling them to communicate with and understand one another. As part of that goal, the organization also has a humanitarian mandate to develop tools and advance capabilities in digitally maturing countries with the goal of enabling more people around the globe to benefit from the use of SNOMED CT. To that end, in 2023 SNOMED International began a collaboration with the Bahmni Coalition, a group of organizations that have come together to steward the future of Bahmni, an open-source EMR specifically designed for use in low-resource healthcare settings. In 2024, SNOMED International official joined the Coalition.

In this episode, SNOMED International Chief Communications and Collaborations Officer Kelly Kuru is joined by Nick Egharos, SNOMED International's Global Vendor Engagement Lead and Customer Relations Executive for the Middle East and Africa; and Satish Viswanathan, Head of Social Change and Sustainability for ThoughtworksIndia & Middle East, and a member of the governing committee of the Bahmni Coalition. 

They discuss how SNOMED CT has been integrated into the Bahmni EMR, and what this means for the low-resource countries where it is being used. Through the Coalition, the ecosystem using Bahmni has grown, leading to its adoption in more than 50 countries around the world. Tune in to hear about the evolution of this partnership and the plans for it going forward. 

Key points from this episode:

  • The formation of the Bahmni Coalition and what it aims to do.
  • How SNOMED got involved with Bahmni and the objectives that brought them together.
  • The alignment of this partnership with SNOMED International’s humanitarian mandate. 
  • The phases of the project and what has already been achieved. 
  • An introduction to the Bahmni EMR and how it was built with open source. 
  • Insight into Bahmni’s use cases and global adoption. 
  • SNOMED’s ongoing role in the Bahmni Coalition.
  • What it means for Bahmni to have SNOMED in its coalition.
  • The input and feedback that the coalition is seeking to shape the future of Bahmni. 
  • Plans for the future of SNOMED and Bahmni’s continued work and areas of focus. 

Quotes:

“By providing SNOMED for free in an open source EMR product, I think we're really trying to show that we're committed to the broad distribution of SNOMED globally, and super keen to find ways to distribute it in ways that allow us to maintain our ability to support SNOMED and yet give that broad access.” — Nick Egharos [0:05:48]

“The credibility that having an organization like SNOMED as part of the Bahmni Coalition offers to countries and ministries of health worldwide can prove a real shot in the arm for adoption of open source technologies like Bahmni in digital healthcare settings worldwide.” — Satish Viswanathan [0:18:57]

“We've already benefited from collaborating with the SNOMED team to enhance our understanding of terminology, but we also hope that with SNOMED’s deep clinical and terminology expertise, we'll also be able to get more feedback about the product itself and help shape the future of the product as we go forward.” — Satish Viswanathan [0:19:24]

“In terms of additional enhancements, I think there's nothing but opportunity and there's a wide array of things we could do, but we want to make sure that as we move forward, we're building things that add value to the customers and to the Bahmni Coalition as a whole.” — Nick Egharos [0:22:51]

Links mentioned in today’s episode:

SNOMED International

The Bahmni Coalition

Satish Viswanathan

Kelly Kuru

Nick Egarhos

Bahmni + SNOMED CT

Bahmni roadmap consultation

Thoughtworks

Digital Public Goods Alliance

 

 

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Coded ConversationsBy SNOMED International