UVL faced fundamental structural challenges in adopting digital health technology:

• Limited Technical Infrastructure: The hospital operated entirely on paper-based systems with minimal IT capacity and unreliable connectivity, making traditional EMR implementation nearly impossible.
• Resource Constraints: As a small rural facility, UVL lacked both the financial resources and technical expertise typically required for successful health information system deployments.
• Regulatory Compliance Pressure: Government funding for essential maternal and child health services had become conditional on digital reporting capabilities, creating an urgent timelines with serious consequences for non-compliance
• These challenges directly threatened UVL's ability to maintain critical healthcare services in a region with few alternatives. Without digitalization, the facility risked losing funding that would effectively shut down maternal and child health programs serving the most vulnerable populations.

"Without digitizing our operations, we faced an existential threat to our most essential services. The traditional approach to EMR implementation would have been too complex, too costly, and too slow to meet our urgent compliance deadlines.", Dr. Alexis Nizigiyimana, MD, CEO of Ubuntu Village of Life.

After evaluating available options, UVL decided to begin their digitization in collaboration with the Madiro foundation using Ozone to implement an "instant HIS" solution based on OpenMRS 3, addressing their three critical challenges and putting them on the right track for future expansions:

• Simplicity-First Architecture: Ozone's approach prioritized essential functionality that could work within UVL's limited technical infrastructure, providing an accessible starting point for digital transformation.
  
  
• Cost-Effective Implementation: The solution leveraging existing Digital Public Goods rather than custom development, dramatically reducing both initial implementation costs and long-term maintenance requirements.
  
  
• Rapid Deployment Strategy: A phased implementation starting with patient registration and core reporting capabilities ensured UVL could meet government requirements within the prescribed timeline.
  
  
• Building Capacity: Choosing Ozone and its community of practices also put UVL in a better place to onboard new resources and develop digital capacity locally. Through a HealthTech Challenge organized in partnership, 20+ volunteers were able to quickly understand Ozone and deliver a workable version of the “UVL EMR” in only 3 months - as a milestone to train local staff on it in preparation of the adoption.

The implementation at UVL began with patient registration, OPD consultations, laboratory tests, pharmacy dispensing, billing, and basic reporting capabilities – the exact functionality needed to maintain funding eligibility while establishing the foundation for future expansion.

Through this use case, Ozone shows how it can deliver an integrated system that's accessible even to small rural facilities, addressing both immediate compliance needs and creating a pathway for sustainable digital growth.

More details from the presentation at the annual OpenMRS conference 2025 in Kampala: