Design and development of a mobile-based patient management and information system for infectious disease outbreaks in low resource environments.

Background: The design of Patient Management and Information Systems during outbreaks of highly infectious diseases in low resource environments poses special challenges. Such systems necessitate special functional and design requirements to support patient care under austere conditions. A primary concern is to minimize spread of the disease to caregivers and non-infected individuals. Patient management in these conditions requires the design and development of systems customized for complex patient and caregiver workflows.

Objective: Design and develop a Patient Management and Information System for healthcare facilities on the frontlines of outbreaks of highly infectious diseases in low resource environments.

Methods: A team composed of clinicians with experience in Ebola care in affected areas of Africa and informaticians developed detailed hardware, software and functionality requirements. These were translated into hardware designs, software architectures, screen and interface designs and implemented using Common Off-The-Shelf hardware. An experimental app development system was used to develop mHealth software modules.

Results: The system was developed and implemented as a proof of concept. Acceptance testing showed that the system met functionality requirements.

Conclusion: Useful Patient Management and Information systems can be developed and implemented for frontline use in low-resource environments during outbreaks of highly infectious diseases.