Glossary

administrative staff: Individuals who manage people or data in a clinical setting.

android client: The OpenMRS mobile client for accessing OpenMRS server instance on Android devices.

chart: A graph for patients, measuring height, weight and other observations corresponding to recorded patient vitals.

clinician: A doctor, nurse, or other clinical officer who provides health care to patients.

concept: The idea that encompasses any question which can be asked about a patient; an observable point of data.

data: A piece of knowledge that can be reduced to a single value.

electronic medical record (EMR): A computer system that allows for recording, storage, and retrieval of information related to the delivery of health care to patients.

encounter: A clinical transaction between a patient and one or more healthcare providers for the purpose of providing patient services or assessing the health status of the patient. An encounter happens at one point in time.

error: A message in a computer system that describe a problem currently or recently occurring.

form: An electronic form that may be used for entering or viewing data.

implementer: Someone who has or is in the process of deploying OpenMRS in a specific location or context of use.

location: A physical place where a patient may receive healthcare services.

metadata: A piece of information that describes other information.

module: A software package that extends OpenMRS functionality in specific ways; often developed by others in the OpenMRS community.

observation: One piece of information that is recorded about a person at a moment in time.

password: String of characters used for user authentication to prove identity or access approval to gain access to a resource, which is to be kept secret from those not allowed access.

patient: A person receiving health care services.

patient identifier: Any unique number that can identify a patient. Examples are a Medical Record Number, a National ID, a Social Security Number, a driver's license number, etc.

person: Every individual who is referred to in any patient's record in OpenMRS must be stored in the system.

provider: A person or company that provides a health care service to you. E.g. doctors, nurses, clinicans or physicians.

session: The period during a provider's interaction with an EMR system.

session location: A provider's current location when inputting data in an EMR encounter. E.g. Outpatient clinic, laboratory.

user: A person who uses OpenMRS, or more specifically the data in the system representing that person.

username: An identification used by a person with access to a computer, network, or online service.

visit: A time period when a patient is actively interacting with the healthcare system, typically at a session location. In most cases with OpenMRS, this is a time when a provider is interacting actively with a patient.

visit note: A quick note on experiences regarding a patient's visit.

vitals: Commonly known as biometric data in OpenMRS environments.