Digitalizing data verification in Ethiopian healthcare
CORDAID
A PROJECT BY
Moos, Matea, Zuzanna, Martin
CHALLENGE
We were given by Cordaid the task to figure out how to enhance the usage of Performance Based Financing (PBF for short) in Ethiopian healthcare through digitalization. Our primary focus was to investigate how to make the verification of documents and services more efficient.
OUTCOME
We created eSurvey – a small device that lets patients fill out surveys after a service done in a health facility. With it, we remove the sampling aspect that was done as it is not possible to ask everybody how the service was. Another feature is that we and directly store data in a digitized format, reducing the need for people interviewing people. In order for Cordaid to fully utilize the device, we developed guidelines on how to use it and what is needed. As we are in the healthcare context, we focused a lot on the security aspects and ensured that privacy is held up to the highest standards.
PROCESS
QUARTILE 1
We started with researching the context – PBF is a broad topic and there are many details that we must know before we can properly work with it. We also had to learn how it is used by Cordaid in Ethiopian healthcare and what they would like to see modified. We concluded that there is a lot of manual verification done on documents, which could be automated with a device and that there is a survey done on the patients which is done on a small sample as this takes too much time.
QUARTILE 2
In the second quartile we started working on solving the aforementioned issues. During a talk with an expert from Cordaid in Ethiopia, we decided to start with the patient survey problem as their opinion was that the results would be good. We designed a prototype for a small device called eSurvey which would remove the sampling aspect and directly store data in a digitalized format, reducing the need for people interviewing people.
QUARTILE 3
In the third and final quartile, we decided to continue working on the eSurvey as Cordaid wanted to see the idea expanded. We began working on a Minimum Viable product and produced a device that they deemed promising – we discussed how to properly send the data and added a field that allows for a person to ask for a personalized interview if they feel that the survey does not capture their full experience.
