REDUCING ERRORS AND SPEEDING CALCULATION THROUGH AUTOMATION

Armel Brou, DCDJ Fellow in Côte d’Ivoire, provided support to the data management team at CMS Private Center Plus, an Ivorian health facility focused on treating patients with HIV/AIDS and STDs. Armel developed an application that reduces the time spent calculating patient program schedules from five minutes to less than 30 seconds.
Côte d’Ivoire

Problem

While conducting an assessment with the data management team and also the lab, Armel learned that when new patients were admitted, a healthcare worker must calculate the schedule of that patient’s care program. This calculation includes accounting for the patients’ total years of infection and the types of support needed to manage their condition. It is then used to set up a specific appointment, lab test, and medication schedule. Each additional year in treatment adds a layer of complexity to the calculations. For patients with an extended infection history, like those who had been receiving care for 20 years, making the calculation could take over five minutes of busy administrators’ time. Despite being critical to patient care, the information and calculations were also being entered into the system manually, which introduced room for error. It was clear that this calculation was time consuming, and that it could be efficiently automated.

Solution

Armel, with the support of the DCDJ SuperFellows and several other Fellows, worked to create an easy-to-use application that would automatically and accurately calculate the patient program schedules. Built as a simple Excel document, health care providers can enter the date the patient started treatment and the current date, and the application will then calculate all upcoming appointments, lab dates, and needed lab types.

Processes

After identifying the calculation problem as a constraint to healthcare administrator productivity, Armel worked with the data management team to support the new tool development process. The team learned the underlying calculations of the program schedule and created Excel functions that would automate them. Then they tested the application with several healthcare providers to confirm its effectiveness. After development, Armel provided staff training to healthcare administrators to ensure the new application was being used effectively. He describes the application as very intuitive and easy to understand and use, so training can be done by existing staff in the future, without having to rely on Armel or other Data Fellows.

Outcomes and Impacts

The application has reduced the number of errors introduced into the patient scheduling process, while also saving the time required for repetitive, manual calculations. Prior to the application, it would take five minutes per program calculation. Now it takes less than 30 seconds. It was clear to Armel that this system was of value to the clinic staff and was being used. When one staff member accidentally deleted the program from the computers at the facility, they quickly called Armel to reinstall it for them.

More effective scheduling also benefits patients. Prior to the new tool, healthcare providers would often only see the patient when they were in need of a medication refill, and would not know to remind patients of upcoming lab appointments. If patients miss their lab appointments, it is difficult for doctors to make informed decisions about patient care – they may be missing data on viral load, viral suppression, and medication. With the automatic calculations, patients and providers both have a much clearer understanding of expectations prior to appointments, and patients benefit from a more comprehensive continuum of care.

Key Collaborators

Development Gateway

Development Gateway (DG) provides data and digital solutions for international development. We create tools that help institutions collect and analyze information; strengthen institutional capability to use data; and explore what processes are needed to enable evidence-based decisions. A mission-driven nonprofit since 2001 with staff based in five global hubs and around the world, DG makes development data easier to gather, use, and understand.

Des Chiffres et Des Jeunes (DCDJ)

Des Chiffres et Des Jeunes (DCDJ) is a program led by Development Gateway and funded by the MCC-PEPFAR Data Collaboratives for Local Impact (DCLI) Program. DCDJ aims to bolster the subnational supply and use of data for Ivorian citizens, engage youth as champions of these services, and fuel innovation to address rising data needs.

SEJEN CI

SEJEN CI is an analysis, research, and technology consulting company based in Abidjan. SEJEN offers consulting and analysis in the public and private Sectors, including small/medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide. The objective of SEJEN CI is to empower business leaders through decision-making and policy change.

CMS Private Center Plus

CMS Private Center Plus is a health center located in the community of Yopougon. This center specializes in the care of people living with HIV/AIDS and the treatment of STIs. The center focuses on key populations such as homosexuals and sex workers.