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Reporting & Analytics Architecture Document

DHIS Summary vs. Facility Registers

How RAAD Powers Two Different Reporting Needs

RAAD Health Information System • DHIS2 Integration Module

1. Executive Summary

RAAD is a health information system built to serve two distinct but equally important reporting needs - one facing outward to national health authorities, and one facing inward to the clinical staff working at facility level. This document explains how those two reporting streams work, what makes each one valuable, and how they complement each other.

At the heart of RAAD is a single patient database. Every consultation, test, vaccination, and treatment recorded by clinical staff is stored once. From that single source of truth, RAAD is able to produce two very different kinds of reports without any duplication of data entry effort from staff.

DHIS Summary

DHIS2 Summary Reports

Automatically compiles the facility's aggregated statistics - total patients seen, vaccines given, malaria tests conducted, births recorded - and submits them to the national DHIS2 platform. Health authorities and programme managers use these numbers for planning, funding, and policy decisions.
Facility Registers

Clinical Line-List Reports

Produces the detailed patient-by-patient registers that clinical teams use day to day: the ANC register, EPI register, maternity register, OPD register, VCT register, and more. Each register mirrors the paper forms that staff are already familiar with, but is generated automatically from data already in the system.

What Makes RAAD's Approach Powerful

The key strength of RAAD is that clinical staff enter data once, and the system handles the rest. There is no separate data entry process for DHIS Summary, no manual tallying of registers, and no risk of the two sets of numbers telling different stories about the same patients.

  • Staff record patient care as they normally would - consultations, diagnoses, treatments, vaccinations.
  • RAAD's DHIS Summary engine reads that data and produces the monthly indicator totals required by DHIS2, broken down by age group and sex exactly as national guidelines require.
  • RAAD's Facility Register engine reads the same data and produces the detailed line-list registers that supervisors, audit teams, and clinical staff use for patient follow-up and quality review.
  • Both outputs are built from the same underlying patient records.

Key Differences at a Glance

The table below summarises the most important differences between the two reporting streams in plain terms:

What you're asking DHIS Summary Facility Registers
What does it show? Total counts and aggregates for the period (e.g. '47 malaria RDT positives aged 5-14') A named list of every patient, with their individual results in each column
Who reads it? National health authorities, programme managers, donors, M&E teams Clinicians, supervisors, facility managers, audit and inspection teams
How many rows? Typically 3-10 rows of totals per report One row per patient or per visit - can be hundreds of rows
How is age handled? Automatically split into age bands in the totals (e.g. under 5, 5-14, 15+) Each patient's individual age is shown; staff can filter as needed
How often is it used? Monthly - submitted to DHIS2 at end of reporting period On demand - used for daily supervision, audits, follow-up
Is the data the same source? Yes - both draw from the same patient records entered by clinical staff Yes - same data, different presentation

Why This Design Matters for Your Facility

EFFICIENCY No double data entry. Clinical staff record care once, and RAAD automatically generates both the DHIS Summary reports and the facility registers from the same records.
CONSISTENCY Both reporting streams draw from the same patient records. The clinical data underpinning a DHIS Summary submission is the same data that appears in the facility registers.
FLEXIBILITY The facility registers present patient-level detail for clinical and supervisory use, while the DHIS Summary presents the same activity as aggregated totals for national submission. Both views serve their intended audience.
COMPLIANCE The DHIS Summary engine is built to match the exact indicator definitions and age breakdowns required by DHIS2 and national health programme guidelines, reducing the risk of reporting errors during submission.

2. Technical Architecture Overview

2.1 DHIS Summary Queries

RAAD's DHIS Summary engine produces the aggregated values needed to populate DHIS2 data elements. Each report corresponds to one or more national health indicators and returns a compact result set of counts broken down by age band, sex, or programme category - exactly as required by national reporting guidelines.

KEY The DHIS Summary engine counts documented clinical activity across all patients in the reporting period, automatically grouping results by the age ranges and categories that DHIS2 expects. A single query can produce the entire monthly submission for a given health programme area.

Structural Pattern

The DHIS Summary query structure:

SELECT SUM(IF(condition_for_group_A, 1, 0)) AS 'Group A',

SUM(IF(condition_for_group_B, 1, 0)) AS 'Group B'

FROM patient p

INNER JOIN person per ON p.patient_id = per.person_id

INNER JOIN encounter en ON p.patient_id = en.patient_id

INNER JOIN obs test_obs ON ... -- observation must exist

WHERE DATE(en.encounter_datetime) BETWEEN %(startDate)s AND %(endDate)s

2.2 Facility Register Queries

RAAD's Facility Register engine produces the detailed patient-level registers used by clinical staff. Every recorded visit appears as a row in the report, with each clinical data field presented as a separate column - exactly mirroring the layout of traditional paper registers.

KEY The facility register engine is built around visits and patients. Every visit in the date range is included, with each clinical field in its own column. This gives clinical staff and supervisors a complete, familiar view of all patient activity during the period.

Structural Pattern

The facility register query structure:

SELECT @serial_number:=@serial_number+1 AS 'Serial Number', z.\*

FROM (

SELECT pi.identifier, person_name.given_name, ...

(SELECT obs.value FROM encounter en ... LIMIT 1) AS 'Field',

FROM visit vt -- anchor is the VISIT

WHERE DATE(vt.date_started) BETWEEN %(startDate)s AND %(endDate)s

) z, (SELECT @serial_number:=0) y;

3. How RAAD Handles Each Clinical Programme Area

3.1 Malaria

DHIS Summary: Malaria Indicators

Counts fever cases and malaria test results broken down by age group (under 5, 5-14, and 15 and above). Each indicator line - fever cases, RDT positive, RDT negative, Slide positive, Slide negative, treated with ACT, treated with Primaquine, and severe malaria - appears as a separate row in the submission.

  • Each patient is counted once per indicator using their most recent relevant consultation in the period.
  • Age groupings are produced automatically within the query, so the submission is ready for DHIS2 without any manual calculation.

Facility Register: OPD Register (Under 5 and Over 5)

One row per patient seen at OPD during the period. Malaria-related fields - test type, test result, treatment with ACT, severity, and Plasmodium species - appear as individual columns alongside all other clinical information for that patient.

  • The register separates under-5 and over-5 patients across two files, matching the clinical focus of each age group.
  • The register includes both under-5 and over-5 patients in separate reports, matching the two age-group files.
Aspect DHIS Summary (Malaria) Facility Register (OPD)
What it shows Aggregated totals by indicator and age band Individual patient rows with full clinical detail
Rows in output One row per indicator (7-8 rows total) One row per patient seen at OPD
Age handling Automatically grouped into under 5 / 5-14 / 15+ bands Each patient's individual age shown
Malaria fields Separate count per test type and result One column per field on the patient's row
Who uses it Programme managers, national reporting Clinical staff, supervisors, auditors

3.2 Antenatal Care (ANC)

DHIS Summary: ANC Indicators

Returns facility-level totals for 19 ANC indicators in a single submission: visit numbers 1 through 4+, early booking (before 12 weeks), haemoglobin screening, blood pressure check, syphilis testing, LLITN net distribution, deworming, MMN supplementation, iron and folic acid doses (1st, 2nd, 3rd), IPT doses (1st, 2nd, 3rd), and IYCF counselling.

  • Each indicator is counted independently across all patients in the reporting period.
  • The total for each indicator represents the number of individual patients who received that specific service.

Facility Register: ANC Visit Register

One row per ANC visit during the period. Every clinical field recorded during that visit - weight, height, MUAC, blood pressure, EDD, gravida, para, IPT dose, haemoglobin, iron, MMN, syphilis result, HIV status, and more - appears as a column on that patient's row.

  • A patient who attended four ANC visits in the month will appear as four rows, with each visit's data in the corresponding row.
  • The register is filtered to ANC visit type only, so it contains exclusively antenatal consultations.
Aspect DHIS Summary (ANC) Facility Register (ANC)
What it shows Total count per ANC indicator for the facility Full clinical detail for each ANC visit
Rows in output 1 row with 19 indicator columns One row per ANC visit
Multi-visit patients Each indicator counted independently Appears once per visit attended
Clinical fields covered 19 specified indicators All recorded ANC fields
Who uses it Programme managers, national reporting Midwives, nurses, facility supervisors

3.3 Immunisation / EPI

DHIS Summary: EPI Indicators

Counts vaccine doses administered during the period, split across three child age bands: under 11 months, 11-23 months, and 24-59 months. For each band, it counts BCG, OPV (birth through 3rd dose), Pentavalent (1st through 3rd), IPV (1st and 2nd), Pneumococcal (1st through 3rd), Rotavirus (1st through 3rd), MCV (1st and 2nd), Vitamin A (6-11 months and 12-59 months), Deworming, and Adverse Events Following Immunisation.

  • Each dose is counted separately, so the report clearly shows how many children received each specific dose within the period.
  • The three age bands are produced automatically in a single report run.

Facility Register: EPI Child Register

One row per child who received any immunisation during the period. Each vaccine and dose appears as a column showing the date it was administered, matching the format of a traditional paper EPI card.

  • The mother's full name is included on each child's row for easy identification.
  • All children regardless of age appear in a single register, making it easy to review the full EPI activity for the period.
Aspect DHIS Summary (EPI) Facility Register (EPI)
What it shows Dose counts by vaccine and age band Vaccination dates per child per dose
Age presentation Automatically grouped into 3 age bands Individual child age shown
Output format 3 rows of aggregated totals One row per child vaccinated
Mother's name Not included Included on each row
Who uses it EPI programme managers, national reporting Nurses, vaccination staff, supervisors

3.4 Postnatal Care (PNC)

3.4 Postnatal Care (PNC)

DHIS Summary: PNC Indicators

Counts mothers and infants at each stage of postnatal care: 1st Visit (0-48 hours), 1st Visit (48+ hours), and 2nd or subsequent visit. Three additional supplement indicators are included: mothers given iron supplement, mothers given micronutrient supplementation, and mothers given IYCF counselling. Each indicator is reported separately for mothers and infants.

  • All six visit and supplement indicators are produced in a single submission.
  • Visit timing classification (0-48 hours vs 48+ hours) is based on the recorded visit type, not calculated from timestamps.

Facility Register: PNC Visit Register

One row per PNC visit. Every clinical field recorded during that visit appears as a column, including delivery date, delivery type, infant name, blood pressure, haemoglobin, MMN, iron, HIV status, partner HIV result, CTX for infant, IYCF counselling, referral in and out, and date of next visit.

  • The register covers both maternal and infant data on the same row, giving a complete picture of each postnatal contact.
  • Visit sequence (1st, 2nd, 2+) is tracked automatically so the register mirrors the structure of a paper PNC book.
Aspect DHIS Summary (PNC) Facility Register (PNC)
What it shows Aggregated totals by visit timing and supplement type Full clinical detail for each PNC visit
Mother vs Infant Reported as separate indicator counts Both on the same row per visit
Supplement data Counted as facility-level totals Shown as individual columns per patient
HIV data Covered in the PMTCT report Included inline on each visit row
Who uses it Maternal health programme managers Midwives, nurses, facility supervisors

3.5 Family Planning / Birth Spacing

DHIS Summary: Family Planning Indicators

Reports on six contraceptive method categories - oral contraceptives and emergency pills, injectables, implants, IUDs, female condoms, and male condoms - each broken down into New Clients, Continuing Clients, and Commodities Dispensed. The client classification (New vs Continuing) is drawn from the Client Type field recorded at the point of service.

  • The result is a clear six-row summary showing, for each method, how many clients were new, how many were returning, and how many units were dispensed.
  • A complementary dispensing report counts total quantities dispensed by product name.

Facility Register: Birth Spacing Patient Register

One row per female patient who received a birth spacing service during the period. Each contraceptive product appears as a Yes/No column, making it easy to see at a glance which products each patient received. Implant and IUD removals are captured in separate columns.

  • Patient address details are included in the monthly variant of the register, supporting community follow-up.
  • The register is scoped to female patients only, matching the clinical focus of the birth spacing programme.
Aspect DHIS Summary (Family Planning) Facility Register (Birth Spacing)
What it shows Totals by method: new, continuing, dispensed Per-patient record of products received
Output format 6 rows × 3 columns One row per patient, one column per product
Client classification New vs Continuing tracked per method Products shown as Yes/No per patient
Removals Not included Implant and IUD removals in separate columns
Who uses it Family planning programme managers Family planning staff, supervisors

3.6 HIV / VCT

DHIS Summary: HIV/VCT Indicators

Reports HIV testing activity broken down into four age bands (0-14, 15-19, 20-24, and 25 and above) with separate counts for male and female in each band. For each group, it reports total tested and total positive.

  • The result is a clear 4-row table showing the distribution of HIV testing and positivity across the population.
  • All four age bands are produced in a single report run.

Facility Register: VCT Visit Register

One row per VCT visit. Every step of the counselling and testing process is recorded in a separate column: pre-test counselling, agreement to test, post-test counselling, final result, couple counselling, spouse result, referral, and remarks.

  • The register captures the full counselling pathway, not just the test result, making it useful for quality assurance of the VCT service.
  • Patient age and sex are shown on each row for easy cross-referencing.
Aspect DHIS Summary (VCT) Facility Register (VCT)
What it shows Tested and positive counts by age band and sex Full counselling and testing pathway per visit
Output format 4 rows (one per age band) One row per VCT visit
Age handling Grouped into 4 age bands automatically Individual patient age shown
Counselling data Not included Pre-test, post-test, couple counselling columns
Who uses it HIV programme managers, national reporting VCT staff, supervisors, quality reviewers

3.7 Maternity / Delivery

DHIS Summary: Delivery Indicators

Three focused DHIS Summary reports cover the delivery domain. The first reports total births, deliveries conducted by other cadres, partograph use, and uterotonic administration for PPH prevention. The second cross-tabulates delivery method (Normal Vaginal, Assisted Vaginal, Caesarean Section) against four maternal age bands (10-14, 15-19, 20-24, and 25+). The third reports birth outcomes: live births, fresh stillbirths, macerated stillbirths, low birth weight, preterm, breastfed within one hour of birth, and early neonatal deaths.

  • A fourth PMTCT-focused report covers HIV testing, HIV positivity, and ART initiation at labour and delivery.
  • Each report is concise and directly maps to the corresponding DHIS2 data elements.

Facility Register: Maternity & Delivery Register

One row per delivery, containing all clinical fields in a single wide register: admission date, gravida, para, gestational age, complications, haemoglobin, partograph use, delivery type, presentation, who conducted the delivery, uterotonic given, placenta status, birth outcomes, baby weight, APGAR score, sex of baby, breastfeeding initiation, BCG and OPV at birth, HIV counselling and testing, ART start date, discharge date, and referral status.

  • Birth outcomes appear as individual Yes/No columns per outcome type, matching the layout of a paper maternity register.
  • HIV and PMTCT data are included in the same register row, avoiding the need to cross-reference a separate document.
Aspect DHIS Summary (Delivery) Facility Register (Maternity)
What it shows Aggregated totals across 3 focused reports All delivery detail for each patient in one row
Birth outcomes Count per outcome type Yes/No column per outcome on each row
Maternal age Grouped into 4 age bands for method report Individual age shown on each row
HIV / PMTCT Covered in a separate PMTCT report Included inline on the delivery row
Who uses it Maternal health managers, national reporting Midwives, maternity supervisors, auditors

3.8 Clinical Attendance / OPD

DHIS Summary: OPD Clinical Attendance Indicators

Reports the total headcount of patients seen at OPD, broken down into New and Follow-up visits, with each further split by under-5 and over-5, and by sex. The result is a compact six-number summary (headcount, new, and follow-up, each by age and sex) that feeds directly into the DHIS2 clinical attendance data element.

  • New patients are those attending for the first time for a given condition; follow-up patients are returning for the same episode of care.
  • Both age groups (under 5 and over 5) are covered in a single report.

Facility Register: OPD Patient Registers

Two detailed registers - one for under-5 patients and one for over-5 patients - each with one row per patient seen at OPD. Beyond attendance, the register captures the full clinical picture: malaria testing and treatment, diarrhoea, pneumonia, neglected tropical diseases, STIs, mental health, GBV/FGM, emergency care events, IDSR conditions, nutrition status, and visit outcome.

  • The over-5 register additionally captures IDSR-reportable conditions (Acute Flaccid Paralysis, SARI, Suspected Measles, Cholera, etc.) that have their own separate DHIS Summary reports.
  • New vs Repeat classification in the register is based on whether the patient had any prior OPD encounter in the period.
Aspect DHIS Summary (OPD) Facility Register (OPD)
What it shows Headcount totals: new, follow-up, by age and sex Full clinical record for each patient seen
Output format 6 aggregated counts One detailed row per patient
Clinical conditions Attendance classification only All conditions recorded during the visit
IDSR conditions Covered in a separate IDSR report Included in the over-5 register
Who uses it Facility managers, national reporting Clinicians, nurses, supervisors, auditors

3.9 Nutrition Programmes

DHIS Summary: Nutrition Programme Indicators

RAAD covers nutrition across three complementary DHIS Summary reports. The programme outcomes report tracks the results of patients enrolled in OTP, SFP, and SC nutrition programmes - counting Cured, Defaulted, Died, Non-Responder, and Transferred Out outcomes using the programme enrolment records. The IMAM report counts MUAC Yellow (MAM) and MUAC Green (Normal) cases by age band. A programme enrolment count report covering active OTP, SFP, and SC enrolments by age and sex is also included in the system.

Facility Register: Embedded in OPD Register

Nutrition data for under-5 patients is included directly within the OPD register as dedicated columns, covering Nutritional Status, Method of Assessment, Oedema, and Referral to SFP/OTP/SC. This means clinical teams have full nutrition detail in the same register they use for all other OPD activity, without needing a separate document.

3.10 Pharmacy Register

The pharmacy register is a Facility Register-only report with no direct DHIS Summary counterpart. It provides a complete line-list of every drug order issued during the period. Each row contains the full prescription detail - drug name, date, dose and unit, frequency per day, route of administration, quantity, duration, and any special instructions.

  • The pharmacy register is built entirely from prescription order records, giving it a distinct and complementary view of patient care alongside the clinical registers.
  • It is particularly useful for pharmacy stock reconciliation and prescription audit purposes.

4. Key Differences Between the Two Engines

Because the DHIS Summary and Facility Register engines serve different purposes, there are a small number of intentional design differences in how they present the same clinical data. These are not inconsistencies - they reflect the different needs of each audience.

4.1 Aggregated Totals vs. Individual Patient Rows

The most fundamental difference is the shape of the output. The DHIS Summary engine counts and totals - it produces a small number of rows that are ready to be entered into DHIS2. The Facility Register engine lists - it produces one row per patient or per visit so that clinical staff can review individual cases.

Programme Area DHIS Summary output Facility Register output
Malaria 7-8 rows of totals by age band and test type One row per OPD patient with clinical detail
ANC 1 row with 19 indicator counts One row per ANC visit
EPI 3 rows of dose counts by age band One row per child vaccinated
PNC 6 rows of visit and supplement counts One row per PNC visit
HIV / VCT 4 rows of tested/positive by age and sex One row per VCT visit
Delivery 3 focused count reports One row per delivery with all fields
OPD Attendance 6 attendance counts by age and sex One detailed row per OPD patient
Family Planning 6 rows by method: new, continuing, dispensed One row per patient with Yes/No per product

4.2 Age Grouping

The DHIS Summary engine automatically groups patients into the age bands required by national reporting guidelines within the query itself. The Facility Register presents each patient's individual age as a column, allowing clinical staff and supervisors to filter or sort as needed without the grouping being fixed in advance.

Programme Area DHIS Summary age bands Facility Register age presentation
Malaria / OPD Under 5 / 5-14 / 15 and above Individual patient age
HIV / VCT 0-14 / 15-19 / 20-24 / 25 and above Individual patient age
Delivery (method) 10-14 / 15-19 / 20-24 / 25 and above Individual patient age
EPI Under 11 months / 11-23 months / 24-59 months Individual child age and date of birth
ANC / PNC / Family Planning Age displayed as a single value per patient Individual patient age

4.3 How Each Engine Handles Multiple Visits

The two engines treat repeat visits within a reporting period differently, and both approaches serve their intended purpose:

  • DHIS Summary: each patient is counted once per indicator, regardless of how many times they were seen. This produces the unique-patient totals that national reporting requires.
  • Facility Registers: each visit appears as a separate row. A patient who attended three ANC consultations in the month will have three rows in the ANC register - giving clinical staff the full visit-by-visit history they need for patient care and follow-up.

5. Common Foundations Across Both Engines

While the DHIS Summary and facility register engines serve different purposes, they are built on the same underlying data and share the same core logic for data quality and accuracy. This shared foundation means improvements made to one engine benefit both, and that results from both are always derived from the same clinical source of truth.

5.1 Always Using the Most Recent Clinical Record

Both engines are designed to use the most recent version of any clinical record within an encounter. If a clinician updates a form after initially saving it, RAAD always reports on the updated values - not the original entry. This ensures that corrections made during the same visit are reflected in all reports.

5.2 Excluding Cancelled or Corrected Records

Both engines automatically exclude any records that have been cancelled or corrected in the system. This is applied consistently across all 60+ report queries in RAAD, ensuring all outputs are based on clean, validated data.

5.3 A Shared Clinical Terminology Dictionary

Both engines use the same OpenMRS clinical concept dictionary to identify observations. Every clinical question (e.g. "Malaria test") and every coded answer (e.g. "RDT", "Positive") is matched by its standardised concept identifier, not by free text. This means:

  • Reports are resilient to minor differences in how data was entered, as long as the correct coded option was selected.
  • Both the DHIS Summary report and the facility register will always identify the same set of patients for any given clinical indicator.
  • Adding a new language translation or synonym to the dictionary automatically applies to all reports.

6. Complete RAAD Report Inventory

The following table lists all reports available in RAAD, indicating whether each belongs to the DHIS Summary engine (submitted to DHIS2) or the Facility Register engine (used at facility level).

Report Name Engine Clinical Area
Antenatal Care (MF-08) DHIS Summary ANC visit counts, supplements, and screenings
Birth Spacing Summary (MF-08) DHIS Summary Family planning: new clients, continuing clients, dispensed by method
Emergency Obstetric Care (MF-08) DHIS Summary EmOC signal functions
Method of Delivery (MF-08) DHIS Summary Delivery method by maternal age band
Delivery in Facility (MF-08) DHIS Summary Total births, partograph use, uterotonic for PPH
Outcome of Facility Delivery (MF-08) DHIS Summary Birth outcomes: live births, stillbirths, low birth weight, preterm
Tetanus Toxoid Dosage (MF-08) DHIS Summary Tetanus doses at ANC and for women of childbearing age
Maternal Death in Facility (MF-08) DHIS Summary Maternal deaths by age group
Postnatal Care (MF-08) DHIS Summary PNC visit counts and postnatal supplements
PLW Nutrition Screening (MF-08) DHIS Summary MUAC screening for pregnant and lactating women
Immunisation / EPI (MF-06) DHIS Summary Vaccine doses by age band
Infant & Young Child Feeding / IYCF (MF-06) DHIS Summary Vitamin A supplementation and deworming
Nutritional Assessment (MF-06) DHIS Summary Weight-for-height and MUAC screening by age
Programme Outcomes / IMAM (MF-06) DHIS Summary OTP/SFP/SC outcomes: Cured, Defaulted, Died, etc.
Malaria (MF-03) DHIS Summary Fever cases, RDT/Slide testing and treatment
GBV / FGM (MF-03) DHIS Summary Gender-based violence and FGM cases by age
Mental Health (MF-03) DHIS Summary Mental health new presentations and follow-up
Neglected Tropical Diseases (MF-03) DHIS Summary Schistosomiasis, Trachoma, Worm infestation, Onchocerciasis
Emergency Care (MF-03) DHIS Summary Emergency event types by age group
STI Syndromes (MF-03) DHIS Summary Genital discharge, ulcer, and other STI syndromes
Child Health (MF-03) DHIS Summary Paediatric diarrhoea, pneumonia, influenza-like illness
Other Conditions (MF-03) DHIS Summary Hepatitis, hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, ADR
Clinical Attendance (MF-03) DHIS Summary OPD headcount, new patients, follow-up visits
Operational Theatre (MF-01) DHIS Summary Surgeries under local and general anaesthetic
Blood Screening (MF-10) DHIS Summary HBsAg, HCV, VDRL, HIV blood screening
Laboratory Services (MF-10) DHIS Summary Lab tests by department
Haemoglobin (MF-10) DHIS Summary Haemoglobin results by severity band
Confirmed Lab Diagnosis (MF-10) DHIS Summary Confirmed diagnoses: Polio, Measles, Cholera, Rabies
Malaria Lab (MF-10) DHIS Summary RDT/Slide results and Plasmodium species
HBsAg & HCV (MF-10) DHIS Summary Hepatitis B and C tests and positives
HIV / VCT Testing (MF-05) DHIS Summary HIV testing by age band and sex
PMTCT at ANC (MF-05) DHIS Summary PMTCT indicators at antenatal care
Labour, Delivery & Postnatal / PMTCT (MF-05) DHIS Summary PMTCT indicators across L&D and PNC
IDSR Weekly Summary (MF-13) DHIS Summary Immediately reportable disease cases and deaths
ANC Register (R-08 B) Facility Register Per-visit line list for all ANC consultations
PNC Register (R-09 B) Facility Register Per-visit line list for all PNC consultations
Birth Spacing Register (R-08 A) Facility Register Per-patient register of contraceptives received
Maternity & Delivery Register (R-09 A) Facility Register Per-patient delivery line list with full clinical detail
EPI Register (R-06) Facility Register Per-child register with vaccination dates
OPD Over-5 Register (R-02) Facility Register OPD line list for patients aged 5 and above
OPD Under-5 Register (R-02) Facility Register OPD line list for children under 5
OPD Under and Over-5 Summary (R-02) Facility Register Per-patient OPD indicator summary
Mortality Line Listing (R-09) Facility Register Deaths with recorded cause of death
Laboratory Register (R-10) Facility Register Lab test line list with results
Pharmacy Register (R-11) Facility Register Full drug order line list with dosing details
VCT Register (R-12) Facility Register VCT visit line list with counselling and test result
Visit and Encounter by Date Facility Register Daily encounter counts by encounter type

7. CloudBase - Cloud-Based Aggregation Layer

CloudBase is a centralised cloud system that receives data synchronised from multiple local OpenMRS facility installations. Where the DHIS Summary engine and Facility Register engine both operate within a single facility's local RAAD instance, CloudBase sits above all facilities and consolidates their data into a single shared cloud server. This enables cross-facility reporting, national dashboards, and real-time monitoring without requiring each facility to submit data manually.

7.1 How CloudBase Works

Each OpenMRS facility installation runs a synchronisation process that pushes data to the shared cloud server. Multiple facilities sync independently to the same cloud instance, allowing CloudBase to aggregate data across the entire network of facilities.

What is synced Detail
Clinical observations Every observation (obs) from OpenMRS is synced to CloudBase
Patient demographics Name, gender, date of birth, and patient identifier are synced separately from clinical observations
Facilities Multiple OpenMRS installations sync independently to the same cloud server, enabling cross-facility aggregation

7.2 Dashboard Summary Counts

CloudBase produces a set of summary dashboard counts for each facility and across all facilities. The table below details what each metric counts and how patients or encounters are distinguished.

Register Counting Unit
OPD ≥5 years Distinct patients with OPD Form observation, aged 5 and above
OPD <5 years Distinct patients with OPD Form observation, aged under 5
ANC visits Distinct visits, female patients, ANC visit type, with at least one recorded observation
ANC forms Distinct encounters within ANC visits, female patients, with at least one recorded observation
PNC visits Distinct visits, female patients, PNC visit type
PNC mother Distinct encounters with a Mother PNC Visit observation type
Deliveries Distinct patients with a Delivery Summary observation, Delivery visit type only
EPI / Immunisation Distinct patients with an Immunization Type field observation
Infant visits Distinct encounters with an Infant Visit observation in PNC, Delivery, or EPI visits
New born Distinct encounters with a New Born observation type
Lab orders Distinct orders with a resulted Lab observation or Dispensed observation linked to a Lab Order

7.3 The Visits Without Observations Register - A Data Quality Consideration

The Facility Register engine includes a dedicated report called the Visits Without Observations register. This report lists every visit that was opened in the local RAAD system during the period for which no clinical observations were subsequently recorded. Understanding how this register interacts with CloudBase is important for interpreting any differences between local and cloud-based counts.

Why Empty Visits Exist

OpenMRS permits a visit and its associated encounters to be created in the system without requiring any observations to be saved. This can occur when a patient is registered and a visit is opened, but clinical data entry is not completed - for example, because the consultation was interrupted, the patient left before being seen, or data entry was deferred and not followed up. The visit record exists in the local system, but there is no clinical content attached to it.

How CloudBase Handles Empty Visits

CloudBase synchronises data from local OpenMRS installations using clinical observations as the primary unit of transfer. Specifically, every observation record is synced in two-day batch windows using the observation date as the synchronisation anchor. Patient demographics are synced separately.

Because empty visits contain no observations, there is nothing for the synchronisation process to transmit. As a result, visits without observations are present in the local RAAD Facility Register but are entirely absent from CloudBase. This is expected and correct behaviour - it is not a system error, but a consequence of the observation-based synchronisation design.

HOW THIS AFFECTS COUNTS Any visit that exists in the local EHR without a recorded observation will be counted in the local Facility Register (because the register is anchored on visits) but will not appear in CloudBase (because the sync is anchored on observations). This is the primary structural reason why local register counts and CloudBase dashboard counts may differ for a given reporting period.

What the Visits Without Observations Register Shows

The Visits Without Observations register is a purpose-built Facility Register report that surfaces exactly this category of record. It shows, for each visit type, how many visits were opened during the period that have no associated observations. This makes it a practical data quality tool: it helps facility managers and supervisors identify where clinical data entry was not completed and follow up with the relevant staff.

The register breaks down empty visits by visit type and by sex, making it possible to see, for example, how many ANC visits, OPD visits, or PNC visits were opened but left empty in any given month. Addressing the entries in this register - by going back and completing the data entry for those visits, or by voiding visits that were opened in error - will close the gap between local and cloud-based counts.

End of Document • RAAD • Health Information System