SMS, Medical Records, Mapping, & Mobile Diagnostics

Isaac Holeman, Clinical Program Director at FrontlineSMS:Mediccontact: www.isaacholeman.org/smp

Macro Level Drivers

4.4 Million Health Worker Shortage

Urban/Rural Divides

Urban/Rural Divides

3.6 billion mobile phone subscribers (54% ofglobal population)

In 2002, mobile subscribers overtook fixed linesubscribers

64% of all mobile users are in the developingworld

By 2012, 50% of individuals living in remote areasin the world will have mobiles

The fastest growth is projected to occur in Asia,Middle East, and Africa

Market Penetration

Market Penetration

Scale through replicability depends on simplicity,cost, user ownership and empowerment

FrontlineSMS:Medic harnesses prevalenttechnology and a prevalent clinical model

FrontlineSMS: a laptop and a cellphone become a communication hub

Runs on laptops, desktops, or netbooks

Lowest Common Denominator Phones

Adapter connects computer to a phone

GSM modem for faster text messaging

FrontlineSMS Hardware Family

15

15 minute installation, welcome to FrontlineSMS

Manage phone numbers under contacts tab

Send messages to groups or individuals

Recognize keywords for automated response

Our pilot began in June 2008

A nurse and 10 CHWs the first week

Start with basics

Micro-solar phone chargers

Impact in six months:1. Saved $3,000 in motorcycle fuel2. Saved 2,000 staff hours3. Doubled enrollment in Tuberculosis program

A qualitative outcome: empowerment

Local ownership (of tool, project, data)

Builds on local awareness

Platform is free and works on available hardware

Highly replicable and scalable

No need for the internet

Easy to use

Responds to ‘their’ need (bottom up)

Why it works

Current Sites

New Clinical Partners

Expanding Rapidly in 2009-2010

Extending the FrontlineSMS Platform

OpenMRS integration: Moving from paperrecords to mobile electronic records

OpenMRS is in the orange, moving towards green

Tracking disease burden &health services geographically

How a text message becomes a map

The best crisis communication tool is thetool you were using before the crisis

CellLab: Camera phone becomes a diagnostic tool

A pattern matching algorithm can diagnosediseases like Tuberculosis and Malaria

Print a pre-paid shipping label at hopephones.org

How do I become a clinical partner?

1. Email isaac@medic.frontlinesms.com with a briefdescription of your patient population, clinicalenvironment, organizational resources

2. We help you brainstorm use cases

3. You decide whether you need someone from ourteam on site to help you get started

4. We put your clinic on hopephones.org and startgathering phones

What should I remember about FrontlineSMS:Medic?

1. Free & open source software and a team ofimplementers helping low-resource clinics and hospitals

2. The core platform works with lowest commondenominator everything

3. Currently serving 1.2 million patients, working withglobal partners to reach several million more this year

4. Upcoming innovations include medical records viamobile phone, mapping, and cheap, mobile diagnostics

Isaac Holeman, Clinical Programs Director at FrontlineSMS:Mediccontact: www.isaacholeman.org/smp

Thank You