Tech giant HP has entered the second phase of its collaborative project with Mothers2Mothers (M2M), that uses IT to improve the efficiency of counsellors striving to prevent the transmission of HIV from HIV positive pregnant mothers to their children.
New database technology, cloud and mobile services provided by HP, has converted M2M's current paper-based patient records system into a digital records system. This is expected to expand across the M2M network of more than 700 sites in sub-Saharan Africa.
Rochelle van Rooyen, manager of SA initiatives, HP Office of Global Social Innovation, says this management system will empower counsellors to provide more effective education and support services to pregnant mothers.
“The relationship between HP and M2M came from our global social innovation group. HP conducted an audit assessment on how M2M collects, accesses and manages information. We wanted to put together an online database and connected environment that uses mobile technology that can enable users to connect to their network using mobile phones and tablet PCs.”
According to van Rooyen, the third phase of the project is hoped to be completed in the first quarter of next year, which will see the NGO using a cloud-based system to store information.
“Some of the biggest benefits M2M received from paper-based processes to going digital was an improvement in productivity and efficiency. The volunteers and staff members could spend more time counselling and less time spent on admin work,” adds van Rooyen.
The pilot project in SA took place at M2M's head office in Cape Town, and after finishing the third phase of the project, van Rooyen notes HP will look to help other sub-Saharan regions where M2M operates such as Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Malawi and Tanzania.
According to the tech giant, the system will provide easy access to up-to-date information on patient treatment plans and advanced reporting tools to provide faster and more effective access to information. This will allow M2M to scale knowledge and best practices across its network.
In the next phase of the programme, M2M employees will be able to collect and share data via mobile phones. HP hopes this will enable M2M employees to collect data more efficiently from patients and, over time, will help the operation scale to meet the demands of more patients.
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