Information Communication Technology (ICT) to Improve Rural Maternal Health

This project will improve the maternal and neonatal health of the rural population served by Nkhoma Hospital, and its 9 health centres

Project Aims

• link patient held paper records (health passports) with an electronic record system to create a continuum of care from pregnancy to delivery.
• To ensure that essential health interventions are carried out and all health staff (in hospital and in community) share essential life saving information.

The system at the hospital and clinics is set up to enable essential patient data to be coded and exchanged so that practitioners have a history available and a care plan for every patient.

Structures that allow all new patients to be registered and the information posted to doctors treatment points, patient listings to be made available, transfers of patients between wards and from wards to clinics tracked, patient discharge summaries to be generated, patient treatment records and drug needs recorded, laboratory results entered, attendance at antenatal and postnatal clinics registered and follow up plans identified and activated.

This type of essential mobile facilitated care is changing the way patients are treated ensuring a much stronger system of support and creating a knowledge base of patient population, the disease profile and the demands on the service on a daily and monthly basis.

Project Team

This project is managed by Dr Liz Grant, Director of the Global Health Academy

Funding

Funding for this 3 year project (2013-2016) has been given by the Scottish Government International Development Fund for Malawi.