Development and deployment of electronic medical records for better patient cancer care: an initiative by the National Cancer Grid, India

The National Cancer Grid, a network of > 360 cancer organizations in India, initiated an effort to develop EMRs with specialized oncology capabilities with the help of a multidisciplinary team comprising oncologists, experts in information technology and digital health and policymakers. The process used a structured and consultative approach to define EMR requirements (functional-162, non-functional-54) and categorized them in three grades (silver, gold and platinum) based on sophistication of the requirements and effort needed to develop them. Vendor empanelment was done through a systematic, rigorous process to select those with high-level of product maturity, willingness to work with the NCG team, and ability to develop the listed requirements and deploy at low cost. Simultaneously, subcommittees developed clinical modules, standardized data capture forms, data dictionary, interoperability standards and user-interface design to refine six empanelled EMR solutions. To promote EMR adoption, NCG initiated an early adopter program to provide financial and technical assistance which has led to successful deployment in sixteen NCG hospitals.