SMARTCARE-WHAT IS IT?

 The healthcare industry is a complex organism. Given its complex nature, this industry has taken its time to jump on to the new technology called smartcare.The SmartCare electronic health record system (EHR) has been developed and deployed by the Zambia Ministry of Health (MoH) in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and many other implementing partners.

SmartCare is a fully integrated electronic health record system to provide continuity of care or clinical management information system at the facility and district (management/admin) level or A key component in ‘one National Monitoring and evaluation system’.The System is being simplified and making it more hospital friendly starting with the OPD module, supported by CDC through BroadReach HealthCare Corporation.

According to Ahmad (2013), there is a critical need for health leaders to demand better data from their health information systems and to instil a culture of information use for policy making. In this regard, clinicians’ handwritings on health records can be viewed as insufficient to record adequate information required for treatment and management of patients in that paper records have too many gaps and shortfalls. Among them include; the cost involved in printing these paper records, the demand for storage space and paper records easily tear off making it difficult to trace patient files. Electronic health records basically provide a longitudinal electronic record of patient encounters and patient health information, including patient demographics, progress notes, problems, medications, vital signs, medical history, immunizations, laboratory data and radiology reports (Simon et al., 2008). 

According to WHO (2008) SmartCare is generally considered as being made up of 3 subsystems which are: the trained and certified users, the software system and computers and other physical infrastructure that supports use of the system. SmartCare Mission is to improve the health status of all Zambians by providing continuity of care no matter where the patient is or travels.

SmartCare Vision is to Improved availability of, access to, and utilization of both patient and management information. The following are the significance of smartcart services in health delivery.

Simplicity of the System

In comparing the SmartCare system and the paper based system, reports indicated that the SmartCare system was better off than the traditional paper record system. Reports appreciated the idea behind the SmartCare system in that,it’s quick to trace patient records and easy to follow up those who have missed the clinical appointment. Others went on to state that SmartCare is smart as the health facility looks organised and no papers. Under this category, there were two codes that emerged namely; data security and easier to trace patients as presented below.

Smooth Hospital Experiences.

Patients today want smooth hospital experiences. They want the optimal use of the time that they spend in a hospital. Unfortunately, most hospital experiences are everything but this. With smart technology, hospitals can completely transform the way the patient engages with the hospital. Things like smart parking that guides the patient to a vacant parking spot can save precious time. Patient history can be taken by robots and updated correctly to the patient health record systems(WHO, 2014). All invested stakeholders can access these records in a device-agnostic manner. The use of these technologies translate to smoother patient experiences as the patient then does not waste time locating information and navigating the complex hospital environment but can address his health issue in the shortest time frame.

Data security

In comparing the SmartCare system to the paper records system, the health workers appreciated the SmartCare in terms of data security. They stressed that patient information was more secured in the computer because not all health facility staff have access to the computer

Easier to trace patients

When it comes to accessing patients records and locating defaulting patients, SmartCare is seen to be more effective at tracing patients.It becomes easier to trace defaulters. It helps the clinic to follow up those who are late for clinical follow ups. SmartCare does not have a lot of papers. SmartCare is smart, it makes the office look smart, you don’t have a lot of papers on the table. It becomes easier for the clinicians if there is something he wants to check for the client, he just opens SmartCare other than looking for a file. It becomes easier for the in charge to make reports

Record Keeping

The study revealed that using SmartCare system to keep records was more convenient for the health facilities considering the inadequate space that exists in the health facilities. Furthermore, paper records are difficult to retrieve as compared to the SmartCare system. Users applaude the SmartCare system to be a good record keeping system if all the records are being captured in the system. 

Registers tear off

In terms of paper records, respondents categorically stressed that registers, tally sheets, cards and other paper record systems easily tear off and makes it more difficult to collate data. One report indicated that;

For paper records pages in the registers they get torn off and poor documentation by other staff members especially when its congested in the clinic. Storage of paper records is difficult because of lack space” (WHO, 2010)

Security and confidentiality

In terms of security and confidentiality, Ahmad (2013) specified that SmartCare ensures data security and data is treated as confidential.Furthermore, the other respondent highlighted that;

“Like on the part of the client, according to my experience, my clients were happy because that card is different from the hard copy. Someone can just see the information which is confidential but with the card there is security and confidentiality. Paper record is also good but it can be lost, SmartCare data can be kept in the system

Reduced Error Rates

A 2016 study from John Hopkins shows that medical errors are the “third leading cause of death in the developing countries responsible for more than 250,000 deaths per year”. With smart care, doctors can gain access to near real-time information and take a data-driven approach to ensure better success rates.