Healthcare service delivery is challenging. It is more acute in rural, remote, and rugged regions of the globe and Nepal is no exception. Institutional health delivery is not able to sufficiently deliver all types health services, especially in Nepal’s hinterlands.
Additionally, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc for all healthcare service delivery stakeholders, which includes doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance drivers, and administrative staff, who have had to provide care to multiple types of care seekers. The existing fault lines in the healthcare service system and service delivery gap have become painfully stark.
ICT4D team has advocated research and extension in rural Nepal since 2015. Most of this entails:
Assessment
Assess current infrastructure of electricity, internet and PHC/PH internal network, and human resource technical capacity, patient health record system and review various healthcare delivery systems and devices.
Development
Sensitize End User and local resource people with a customized open-source Electronic Health Record (EHR) to include patient health records, insurance and health data reporting tools (DHIS2).
Training
Conduct and Coordinate various trainings to build local professional capacity building.
Conclusion
The project team has witnessed the following positive outcomes from a successful digital health implementation.
Collaborative Consultative Care
ICT4D team has coined this phrase to denote the ‘Collaborative’ effort between rural medical personnel and an expert medical team which work in a ‘Consultative’ and mutually supportive manner to provide ‘Care’ to the patient who is the most important person in the medical healthcare delivery stack.
Community Healthcare
A digital healthcare platform will allow healthcare data record keeping which facilitates healthcare delivery through community centers, at patient’s home, or some other location if patient is unable to or unwilling to visit the PHC or PH unit.
Digital and Public Health Awareness
A healthcare application platform will foster healthcare data awareness amongst medical personnel, facilitate the Government of Nepal Health Reporting mandate to DHIS2, and ensure quality healthcare delivery to the individual.