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New Evaluation Highlights Benefits of iSanté to Care and Treatment

Dr. Regine Juste (left)  works on iSanté with Dr. Marinho Elisma, I-TECH Haiti's Lead Clinical Mentor.
Dr. Regine Juste (left) works on iSanté with Dr. Marinho Elisma, I-TECH Haiti’s Lead Clinical Mentor.

For a decade, the iSanté electronic medical record system and OpenELIS lab software, developed by the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), have allowed health care providers to document HIV patient care and patient care histories.

A recent evaluation, “Report on Best Practices in ‘Point of Care’ Implementation of iSanté and OpenELIS Data Systems,” has expanded the current knowledge of iSanté’s use at point of care (POC) as well as highlighting the benefit of iSanté use to care and treatment.

The evaluation also identifies strengths and challenges in POC use of the iSanté and OpenELIS systems in clinics and hospitals in Haiti, in order to guide improvements in the quality of I-TECH’s technical assistance.

The move to point of care

Until 2012, most sites used iSanté primarily to capture data that providers had recorded on paper forms. In 2012-13, with impetus from the Haitian Ministry of Health and funders, I-TECH supported some iSanté sites to move toward POC implementation.

This involves providers using iSanté during patient visits to enroll patients, review health history, capture clinical assessments and treatment plans, and record drug and laboratory orders.

Evaluation shows positive impact

Through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with hospital personnel, I-TECH was able to grasp the positive impact of iSanté POC system use has on care and treatment.

Facility personnel at all levels were satisfied with the transition to POC system use. All five sites evaluated reported increases in provider confidence and improved human resource management, citing reduced provider workload and more effective use of provider time.

Personnel also perceived a number of positive effects of system use on productivity and quality of care including benefits to patient experience (reduced wait times) and service quality.