Real-time health records
Successful long-term prevention and treatment programmes require accurate information on patients. As part of our efforts to promote the health and wellbeing of long-distance truck drivers, turnboys and other mobile workers in Africa North Star developed COMETS, the COrridor MEdical Transfer System.
People on the move
People on the move need health care services that move with them. COMETS links the centres together so that as drivers move from one town to the next their patient records move with them. From STIs to ARVs COMETS is a modular system built with the future in mind. The current version of the system is focused on supporting Wellness Centre staff in the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
COMETS contains national protocols for STI treatments and links them to the Wellness Centres’ pharmaceutical inventory. COMETS records prescriptions, dispensations and referrals to other health service providers. Planned upgrades will record clinical data essential to support antiretroviral therapies and TB treatment.
Connected
COMETS must be able to send and receive data reliably and on time. Many centres operate with limited internet connectivity. North Star is incorporating cellular data transfer technology to use mobile telephone networks to keep health information flowing along the corridors.
Know your clients
Up to 50 people per centre daily seek health information, HIV counseling and testing and primary health care services. Each visitor is registered in COMETS according to the demand for services. COMETS categorizes information requests using sociodemographic indicators, but does not link them to an individual. For primary health care services the system creates a patient file linked to a unique number. With their personal number clients can access their treatment records at any centre linked to COMETS along their route.
People who come for HIV counseling and testing can choose to have their results kept anonymous (default) or have them linked to their treatment file. North Star follows WHO guidelines for patient confidentiality. System features and back-up protocols ensure that patient records cannot be disclosed without the individual’s consent.
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
COMETS also tracks key performance indicators (KPIs) for each centre. It allows North Star to monitor operating hours, number of visitors, inventory levels and other critical information. Targets can be set for each KPI and compared daily to the actual recorded values. COMETS serves as an electronic health passport for mobile clients, provides daily information on each centre’s performance, and gives us an overview of the healthcare landscape along transport corridors. A plan to analyze disease patterns on a corridor and, eventually, regional basis is being put in place. North Star will make the results available to local stakeholders for use in identifying disease outbreaks and to improve public health delivery and progamme planning.
