Vodacom works with the SA Ministry of Health and local NGOs to provide better healthcare

Transcription

1 Vodacom works with the SA Ministry of Health and local NGOs to provide better healthcare Nompilo is Ready to address the challenges faced by caregivers. Vodacom Power to you Case Study Nompilo

2 In a country as vast and diverse as South Africa, community health workers play a crucial role in providing healthcare in rural communities. Vodacom created the Nompilo application which uses the power of mobile technology to access patient records on the move. This partnership enables community caregivers to be Ready to heal, no matter where their patients are. Community Health Workers are a crucial component of South Africa s healthcare strategy. Often working in areas without sufficient doctors and nurses, community engagement offers many advantages. Health workers are likelier to be more in tune with local sensitivities; they tend to be more trusted. And, in a country with pressing health concerns and tight budgets, they are more cost effective and faster to train than doctors. Done well, community health projects can produce better outcomes than clinicalbased care. Research by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) who set up Community Adherence Clubs in the township of Khayelitsha, found that participating in local clubs, reduced the number of cases with no effective follow-ups by two thirds and nearly halved the proportion with virologic rebound or breaks in monitoring compared with patients who remained in clinic-based care. Furthermore, MSF found retention in care rose to 97% for patients enrolled in adherence clubs, compared to 85% for those in clinical-based care. 1 However, community health is not without its challenges. South Africa is both vast and ethnically diverse. According to the 2007 UNAIDS report, it is estimated to have more people with HIV than any other country. Transport links are poor. It is not uncommon for rural communities to lack reliable water and electricity. This makes it difficult to deliver consistent healthcare, to gather data and to train community health workers. Using health resources efficiently and effectively is critical. And with over 100,000 community caregivers working throughout South Africa, monitoring their work and handling the paperwork from their visits is difficult and time consuming. Reports can take as long as eight weeks to collate, and data quality can be variable. Without accurate data it is difficult to effectively plan future healthcare projects. Vodacom is working together with local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the South African Ministry of Health, to overcome the challenges of monitoring and managing caregivers work. In 2009, Vodacom created its Nompilo service, an end-to-end monitoring and evaluation solution part of a wider initiative within the mhealth area. It kicked off with a pilot project involving 250 field-based caregivers, supporting patients in local communities. The Nompilo mobile solution removes the need for excessive paperwork by enabling community caregivers to upload patient information directly to web-based servers via their smartphones. The simplicity of the solution allows caregivers to spend more time where they are most needed with the patient. Each Community Care Worker (CCW) has a smartphone loaded with the Nompilo application. When they visit a new patient, the CCW registers them electronically by assigning a unique 2D barcode to them. Nompilo then shows the CCW what type of information needs to be collected, including personal information for administrative purposes and medical/ physiological data to support the treatment plan. Let Vodacom help you become Ready for anything. Go to vodacombusiness.co.za

3 Case Study Nompilo We re in the business of healing. With Nompilo I m Ready to get the job done in the field, with no critical time wasted on finding patients records. 2

4 At each visit, the CCW simply scans the patient s 2D barcode with their mobile phone, so that all new data is immediately linked to that patient s unique electronic ID in the back-end system. Current and historical patient information can be viewed remotely, in real time, by the assigned district manager so there is maximum visibility for community workers and seamless care provision for the patient. Nompilo also provides a managerial platform, enabling the healthcare providers to track and respond to common issues encountered by caregivers. The pilot has now ended, and the Nompilo solution has since rolled out to other Vodacom Health projects. The pilot project resulted in several positive outcomes: Improved levels of care: Nompilo enables healthcare providers to allocate their resources more efficiently, monitor caregivers work and improve the level of support for communities. Reduced costs: The system reduces the administrative burden on healthcare providers and better, timelier information allows managers to identify inefficiencies and reallocate resources so community caregivers time and skills are used more effectively. Issue identification: Information supplied via mobile networks allows healthcare providers to quickly identify and address issues when they arise without the delays associated with paper-based systems. Clear information: Geographical mapping and standardised entry systems improve the data available for managers, enabling them to identify trends and issues. Improved security: Data from caregivers is logged into the central system immediately, eliminating the risk of lost paper activity reports. Using health resources efficiently and effectively is critical. And with over 100,000 community caregivers working throughout South Africa, monitoring their work and handling the paperwork from their visits is difficult and time consuming. Reports can take as long as eight weeks to collate, and data quality can be variable. Without accurate data it is difficult to effectively plan future healthcare projects. 3 Let Vodacom help you become Ready for anything. Go to vodacombusiness.co.za

5 AMBROS/D24828 For more information about these solutions and to start developing applications that meet your unique needs to help you become Ready for anything, simply contact us at: vodacombusiness.co.za Vodacom Group Vodacom and the Vodacom logos are trademarks of the Vodafone Group. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. While Vodacom makes every effort to ensure that the enclosed information is correct at time of print, Vodacom cannot be held responsible for any cost, loss and/or damage that may arise as a result of misprints, incorrect information and/or any changes. E&OE (Errors and Omissions Excepted). DATE ISSUED: June 2014 Powered by: