Bahmni Lite

Owned by Rahul Ramesh
Sept 11, 2024
4 min read

Introduction to Bahmni Lite

Bahmni Lite is a streamlined, lightweight version of the Bahmni health information management system (HIMS), specifically designed for smaller healthcare settings such as clinics and small hospitals. It is a powerful, easy-to-use EMR (Electronic Medical Record) and billing system that provides essential functionality without the complexity of a full-scale hospital information system. Bahmni Lite is fully open-source and optimized for quick cloud deployment, making it the perfect solution for healthcare facilities with limited resources.

To know more about Bahmni Lite:

  1. Read this presentation PDF to know more: (PDF on Bahmni Lite)

  2. YouTube Video introduction to Bahmni Lite: (Bahmni Lite v1.0 Intro on YouTube)

  3. Screenshots of Bahmni: (See this presentation with screenshots)

Target Audience

Bahmni Lite is tailored for:

  • Small hospitals that need core clinical, billing, and analytics functionalities without the complexity of full-blown ERP or lab management systems.

  • Clinics that want a lightweight, easy-to-use, cloud-ready EMR solution with essential billing and reporting features.

  • Facilities in remote areas where mobile access and cloud deployment are critical.

Comparison with Bahmni Standard

While Bahmni Lite retains the core EMR functionality of the standard version, the primary differences lie in the components included:

  • No OpenELIS: Bahmni Lite uses a Lab Lite Module instead of the comprehensive OpenELIS Laboratory Information System.

  • No Odoo ERP: Crater replaces Odoo ERP for billing and invoicing, providing a more lightweight solution suitable for smaller healthcare settings.

Core Components of Bahmni Lite

Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Bahmni Lite uses the Bahmni UI to offer a user-friendly interface for managing patient records, consultations, treatment plans, and other medical information. OpenMRS provides a robust backend for storing and managing patient data.

Lab Lite

Bahmni Lite includes the Lab Lite Module - a simplifies lab result management for smaller clinics, instead of the comprehensive OpenELIS system.

Crater Billing and Invoicing

Crater is an open-source billing and invoicing system that replaces Odoo ERP in Bahmni Lite. It provides a simple interface for managing:

  • Patient billing

  • Invoices

  • Payments This solution is perfect for smaller facilities that do not require a full-scale ERP system but still need efficient financial management.

Metabase for Analytics

Metabase is an open-source analytics tool integrated into Bahmni Lite, offering insights into clinical and financial data. With easy-to-understand reports and dashboards, small clinics can make data-driven decisions without the need for advanced analytics tools.

Key Features

The features are available from Bahmni Lite v1.0 onwards. 

  • Fully Open Source
    Bahmni Lite remains completely open-source, allowing users to access and modify the software based on their needs without licensing fees.

  • Dockerized
    The system runs on Docker containers, ensuring compatibility across different operating systems like Ubuntu, Windows, and macOS. This flexibility makes deployment easier, especially for facilities not using CentOS.

  • Cloud-Ready
    Bahmni Lite is designed to be deployed quickly on the cloud, including environments such as AWS and Kubernetes. This cloud-readiness makes the software accessible from anywhere, offering increased scalability for small healthcare setups.

  • Lightweight Architecture
    Bahmni Lite is built with a smaller footprint compared to the standard Bahmni version. It includes essential components like:

    • OpenMRS 2.5 for electronic medical records (EMR).

    • Crater for billing and invoicing, replacing Odoo ERP.

    • Metabase and Mart Analytics for data analytics and reporting.

  • Pre-Configured for Ease of Use
    To minimize setup complexity, Bahmni Lite comes pre-configured with:

    • CIEL Dictionary with over 50,000 medical terms, including SNOMED, LOINC, and ICD-10 mappings.

    • Pre-built forms, drug lists, clinical reports, and mappings for key clinical terms to provide a ready-to-use solution.

  • Mobile Responsive
    Both the clinical modules and Crater billing system are designed to be mobile-friendly, ensuring easy access from mobile devices, which is particularly useful in remote settings or for healthcare workers on the go.

  • Lab Report Upload Module
    Bahmni Lite includes a new Lab Lite Module for basic lab management needs. It features a React/Carbon-based Lab Result Upload system, allowing facilities to upload and manage lab reports efficiently without the full-fledged OpenELIS module from Bahmni Standard.

  • FHIR Support
    The system supports FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources), enabling smooth data exchange and integration with other health systems that are FHIR-compliant.

  • Teleconsultation Support
    Integrated teleconsultation capabilities are provided via Jitsi, an open-source video conferencing solution. This allows healthcare providers to conduct remote consultations efficiently.

  • SMS/WhatsApp/Email Notifications
    Bahmni Lite includes support for notifications through SMS, WhatsApp, and Email, ensuring effective communication with patients regarding their appointments, medication, and lab results.

  • Significant Security Enhancements
    Bahmni Lite includes vital security upgrades, keeping patient data safe and secure, adhering to the best security practices in healthcare IT.

  • Bug Fixes and Enhancements
    This version has resolved a significant number of bugs and incorporated enhancements from JIRA, ensuring a stable and reliable system for healthcare providers.

Getting Started

You can evaluate Bahmni lite on our Demo environment, or to get Bahmni Lite with docker started with the relevant services (openmrs, lab-lite, etc).

To quickly setup Bahmni Lite on your local, follow the below instructions:

git clone git@github.com:Bahmni/bahmni-docker.git cd bahmni-docker/bahmni-lite # Edit the .env file, and make the following changes # 1. Change `COMPOSE_PROFILES=bahmni-lite` (or run with default which is `emr`) # 2. Change `TZ` to your desired timezone (or run with the default which is `UTC`). # 3. For remote server (if not running on localhost) for crater: # write the IP address or domain name in the following properties (instead of localhost): # CRATER_APP_URL, CRATER_SANCTUM_STATEFUL_DOMAINS and CRATER_SESSION_DOMAIN # Pull latest images docker compose pull # Now start docker (detached mode) docker compose up -d

Bahmni should now be accessible to you locally, at https://localhost/. You can find the default login credentials for Bahmni Lite here.

Bahmni Lite Cloud deployment architecture on Kubernetes/AWS

 

bahmni-lite-cloud.png
source: https://github.com/Bahmni/bahmni-diagrams/tree/main/infra/aws

This diagram provides a high level view of the Bahmni Lite deployment architecture on AWS using Kubernetes

  • The infra is provisioned using Terraforms (Infrastructure-as-code) - see bahmni-infra

  • Bahmni Lite cluster is provisioned using Helm Umbrella Charts - see helm-umbrella-chart

 

On this page

 

The Bahmni documentation is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)