Health IT

Creating, working in, and evaluating telemedicine projects

Telemedicine projects range from an e-mail link with a digital image to high-resolution video calls. Telemedicine has been shown to be feasible in low-resource settings (Wooton, 2010) and worldwide systematic reviews in 2001 and 2006 have shown telemedicine projects are frequently evaluated in resource poor settings.

GHDonline’s Health IT community organized an Expert Panel to discuss what has been learned in telemedicine, its benefits, and what existing projects or services are available for organizations and individuals to participate in.

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Unique Patient Identifiers in Resource-Limited Settings

A member working at a clinic in rural India shares challenges with patient identification. Advocates for unique patients identifiers (UPI, also “patient ID” and “unique identifiers”) insist that a health care system in which every patient has a unique, nondisclosing patient identifier is desirable for reducing errors, simplifying interoperability, increasing efficiency, improving patient confidence, promoting flexibility, and improving the continuity of care for chronic conditions like HIV/AIDS and across the health system. (RAND. 2008. UNAIDS. 2009) They also note privacy concerns over personal health information. Members from across the American, Asian, and African continents share their experiences on various health IT systems and thoughts on policy issues.

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Short Message Service Solutions for Supply Chain Management

In the words of GHDonline member Anup Akkilah, “the efficacy of medicine is irrelevant if drugs are not available in the first place.” This discussion focuses on the use of SMS technologies for drug supply chain management in which members in India, Malawi, and the United States share experience with specific advocacy campaigns.

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Wireless Technologies to Monitor and Improve Patient Adherence

A systematic review of patients who initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) across sub-Saharan Africa found that approximately 25% were no longer in care one year after initiation, a figure rising to 40% after two years (Rosen et al. 2007). This challenge combined with the need for strict adherence to medications for HIV and other chronic diseases make the use of technologies to monitor and improve adherence a much needed effort.

GHDonline’s Adherence & Retention and Health IT communities organized a joint panel discussion on how implementers are using wireless technologies to improve adherence monitoring and interventions. Participants discussed limitations of the technological approach and under-explored opportunities, and expanded the discussion to address challenges and solutions in the delivery of Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) for tuberculosis.

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Local Software Development for Global eHealth

Building and supporting local capacity and expertise is seen by many as critical to the successful development and roll-out of eHealth solutions in countries, programs, and communities. What are the benefits and challenges of having local organizations create and maintain health software and what are the lessons learned from various projects? These are addressed in depth by 26 members, moderators, and panelists with experience in for- and non-profit organizations across the globe.

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Health IT Challenges and Needs for Disaster Relief and Rebuilding

Started as a panel on lessons learned for Health Information Technology post-earthquake Haiti this discussion quickly centered on data collection systems implementation and interoperability of reporting mechanisms.

“After the earthquake, there is more than ever an opportunity (and risks to go wrong) to show value in IT, and to strengthen local capacities by providing efficient tools that can make sense in our environment,” commented a member who runs a software company in Haiti – one of seventeen members who have shared their experiences so far.

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Laptops for Community Health Workers

Started by a community member working in Nicaragua to implement a community-based health care model where a health team consisting of a physician, a nurse and an auxiliary nurse are in charge of a population of 2000 people, this discussion centers on the pros and cons of using low cost laptops for Community Health Workers (CHWs).

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Data collection systems for patient monitoring during disaster relief

Initiated by a community member working in a program in Haiti involving 7 hospitals and the World Health Organization, the US military, Handicap International, HelpAge International, and UNICEF, members participating in this discussion provide a list of requirements and systems available for the collection and sorting of demographic information about patients, their follow-up plans, the distribution of non-food items (NFI) and vulnerability indices using mobile devices.

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Wireless router set-up where electricity is scarce

In settings where electricity is unreliable at best, experience and knowledge with solar-powered or solar set-ups for wireless routers is critical to connect remote sites to the Internet.

In this discussion, members share various solutions for navigating this challenge, explaining set-ups for sites in Malawi, Uganda, and Mozambique, and also recommend vendors.

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