{"72465":{"#nid":"72465","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Software Improves Health Care Delivery in Africa","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EATLANTA \u2013 Nov. 8, 2011 \u2013 Researchers from the Georgia Tech College of Computing, working in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have developed a digital data tracking system to assist low-resource clinical laboratories in developing countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESub-Saharan Africa suffers from some of the greatest health challenges in the world, making the need for efficient healthcare delivery especially vital. However, most hospitals and labs in the region use paper logs and manual entries for tracking data, methods that take up valuable time and are prone to errors and loss of data. In an effort to increase efficiency and allow more patients to be tested accurately, a team led by Professor Santosh Vempala in the School of Computer Science developed the Basic Laboratory Information System (BLIS).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring a six-month pilot implementation in three hospital labs in Cameroon, BLIS accounted for a 66 percent decrease in errors and a 50 percent reduction in employee workload. This lead to significantly reduced waiting times and twice as many patients being tested daily compared to pre-BLIS operations. \u201cBLIS is easy to use and intuitive,\u201d Sidney Atah, BLIS project coordinator in Cameroon, says. \u201cWhen configuring the software, you control the behavior and appearance of the system without modifying the program.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBuilt from freely available and open-source components, BLIS digitizes the traditional data tracking system, resulting in a sustainable program that tracks specimens, results and workflow. Unlike similar software from commercial providers, BLIS is extremely cost-effective, works on limited resources, and requires virtually no training. Additionally, the system is designed to work effectively in countries with very little IT infrastructure and limited connectivity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIntegrating data tracking software in these labs has been difficult in the past, mainly due to high costs and the failure of other system providers to incorporate the varying needs of labs and hospitals from different countries and cultures,\u201d Vempala said. \u201cWe wanted to design an extremely configurable system that would adapt to fit the needs of its users in order to improve workflow and patient care.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of following a one-size-fits-all approach, BLIS was designed to enable each lab or country to customize and configure the system in a way that suits them best. The digital program seeks regular feedback from users and then incorporates this feedback through system updates, resulting in a program that evolves with the needs of the lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the past year, BLIS has been implemented in nine laboratories across three African countries: Cameroon, Tanzania, and Uganda. Vempala and his team have worked with local lab technicians, representatives from each country\u2019s ministry of health, and local implementing partners to integrate BLIS into various labs across the three countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Maurice Mouladje, lab director for Buea Regional Hospital in Cameroon, says BLIS has had a positive impact on both patients and staff.\u0026nbsp; Physicians are able to attend to patients promptly, reducing their wait time, and BLIS provides flexibility in lab technician workload. Similarly, Atah notes that BLIS\u2019s reach goes beyond increased efficiency and accuracy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBLIS has added confidence and hope in the quality of results and the ability of our institutions to provide quality care to patients,\u201d Atah says. \u201cIt makes me feel like nothing is impossible to achieve; it is our African dream.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy early 2012, Vempala and his team, Amol Shintre, Akshay Phalnikar and Anu Nair, all graduate students at Georgia Tech, plan to expand BLIS to labs in Ghana, in addition to incorporating the software in more clinics in Cameroon, Tanzania and Uganda. In the next year, he hopes to make BLIS available to any lab in the developing world, which will also include access to local technical support for a minimal fee.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBLIS is a part of Georgia Tech\u2019s Computing for Good (C4G) initiative, which applies computing to social causes and improving quality of life around the world. For more information about BLIS, including user feedback and access to the software, visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/blis.cc.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_self\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/blis.cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E###\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout the Georgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech College of Computing is a national leader in the creation of real-world computing breakthroughs that drive social and scientific progress. With its graduate program ranked 9th nationally by U.S. News and World Report, the College\u2019s unconventional approach to education is defining the new face of computing by expanding the horizons of traditional computer science students through interdisciplinary collaboration and a focus on human centered solutions. For more information about the Georgia Tech College of Computing, its academic divisions and research centers, please visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_self\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor more information, contact: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMichaelanne Dye\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4015\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mdye@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emdye@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgia Tech implements digital data-tracking system in developing African countries"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EATLANTA \u2013 Nov. 8, 2011 \u2013 Researchers from the Georgia Tech College of \nComputing, working in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control \nand Prevention (CDC), have developed a digital data tracking system to \nassist low-resource clinical laboratories in developing countries. \u003Cem\u003ESource: Office of Communications\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"GT researchers working with CDC have developed flexible system to track health data in low-resource nations."}],"uid":"27174","created_gmt":"2011-11-08 10:45:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:38","author":"Mike Terrazas","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-11-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2011-11-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"72466":{"id":"72466","type":"image","title":"BLIS Photo 2","body":null,"created":"1449177930","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:25:30","changed":"1475894658","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:18","alt":"BLIS Photo 2","file":{"fid":"193679","name":"blis.2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blis.2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blis.2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3045165,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/blis.2_0.jpg?itok=p_C5OSGp"}}},"media_ids":["72466"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"861","name":"Africa"},{"id":"7805","name":"c4g"},{"id":"7806","name":"computing for good"},{"id":"14788","name":"healthcare technology"},{"id":"167405","name":"santosh vempala"},{"id":"166941","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichaelanne Dye\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.385.4015\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mdye@cc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emdye@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["mdye@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}