“SMS BASED, PATIENT
REFERRAL SYSTEM”
Enock Rukundo
Project Stretch goal
Kigali Health Institute (KHI)
Kigali, Rwanda
Project Background…short story!
My Dad and 6
transfers..
Purpose driven goal…)
My poor Dad received 6 different medical transfers
From the HC
To the District Hospital
Then Provincial Hospital
To the Military Hospital
The Referral Hospital
To the High-level Private Hospital (Rich..)
And finally to the Military Hospital again (Mutual de Santé support laboratory exams).
Problem Statement...
Under Construction…..
•
Referrer data
•
Rwandan Government Priorities
Anticipated Solution
Architecture...
Critical steps:
•
Sender submits an sms with patient case details; structured format: ID patient no,
content
•
The filter application makes verification actions i.e format rules
•
The intermediary filter application re-shapes text sms’s into readable web based or
emails formats and sent to the operator/moderator.
•
Moderator reads case details and decides the final decision or which specialist(s) most
appropriate to the case in question
•
An automatic email sent to the specialist or sender
•
Specialists logs in the server, reads the case history and provides a response to the
moderator and the sender
•
Referrer reads response from the operator/moderator
•
The referrer reports action being taken (transfer details)
Work-in-Progress…
Blue Binder
Checklist &
Bottlenecks...
Critical Control Factors:
•
Field workers trained
•
Professional buy-in
•
Efficient moderator/playing a vital role/important factor
•
Organizational set-up
•
Create specific interests for the cause
•
Impact measurements for the patient and health facilities (hospitals)
/demonstration of specific community interests
Work-in-Progress…
Blue Binder
Checklist &
Bottlenecks...
Benefits:
•
First and foremost this referral system is a network of people who trust each other and
want to collaborate, capacity building and social engineering are thus very important.
•
Improve access to health care;
•
Enhance the quality of service delivery;
•
Improve the effectiveness of public health and primary care interventions;
•
Improve the global shortage of health professionals through collaboration and training