Last week saw the unveiling of the Mobile Health Information System (MHIS) project, in Mthatha.
The project is a multi-partner programme aimed at equipping Eastern Cape health professionals with easy access to information. MHIS provides doctors and nurses with smartphones and tablets preloaded with a locally relevant clinical library, which includes medical guidelines, protocols, diagnostic tools and drug formularies. Users also have access to journal articles and medical books. The system is intended to improve Internet access and availability of information in a resource-poor region, and thereby improve patient care.
"The MHIS mission is simple but important: provide mobile content to those who need it in healthcare in SA," said Berhane Gebru, director of programmes: TechLab, FHI 360, speaking at the launch event.
The project forms part of Qualcomm's 'Wireless Reach' initiative, a programme intended to improve lives worldwide using wireless technology, and was initiated in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDoH), FHI 360 (a human development non-profit), MTN SA and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) School of Clinical Care Sciences.
MHIS began in 2009 as a pilot project, with 50 participating nurses, and saw an additional 125 nurses and doctors added in the second phase, in 2012. At the conclusion of this phase, NMMU conducted an evaluation of the project by surveying the doctors and nurses involved. This survey found that the majority of health professionals who had used the system felt it had assisted them in making accurate diagnoses, prescribing the correct treatment and dosage, and providing up-to-date information.
"Before this project, it was difficult to carry all these booklets around with us, but now, if you come across a condition that you're not sure how to manage, you can quickly look it up and know how to manage the patient's condition properly. I can honestly say it's made a huge difference," said Dr Kholeka Spelman of Cofimvaba Hospital, speaking in a panel discussion on the project. "I didn't know that one day I could carry a library in my hand," added Khuluma Mnanzwa, a nurse from Port Saint John's Clinic.
A longitudinal study confirming the system's impact on patient recovery and mortality rates is yet to be conducted, according to Dr Esmerelda Ricks, head of the Department of Nursing Science at NMMU.
Going forward
Qualcomm and FHI 360 have transferred their MHIS responsibilities, including information management and project management, to the ECDoH. MHIS will be introduced to NMMU's nursing curriculum, and MTN will continue to offer discounted devices and airtime in order to expand the project base.
The content will be updated continuously within the Department of Health, with user requests going via content advisory authorities and loaded into the MHIS portal, from which users can download updated information. As DoH guidelines and protocols are updated, so too will the MHIS content. "All the documents are locked, meaning the issuer of the content will take responsibility for the content. The content cannot be changed by unauthorised users," explained Gebru.
According to Mbuyiselo Goduka, CIO of the ECDoH, within the next two years, the department will provide an additional 1 000 devices in the Eastern Cape. "It is critical to make sure there is continuity in the project, especially because we are no longer testing or doing research," he said. "This is now a Department of Health product. It has been given to us officially, and it is now up to us to make sure this thing works, and works forever."
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