{"72473":{"#nid":"72473","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Software Improves Healthcare Delivery in Africa","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers from the Georgia Tech College of Computing,\nworking in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\n(CDC), have developed a digital data tracking system to assist low-resource\nclinical laboratories in developing countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESub-Saharan\nAfrica suffers from some of the greatest health challenges in the world, making\nthe need for efficient healthcare delivery especially vital. However, most\nhospitals and labs in the region use paper logs and manual entries for tracking\ndata, methods that take up valuable time and are prone to errors and loss of\ndata. In an effort to increase efficiency and allow more patients to be tested\naccurately, a team led by Professor Santosh Vempala in the School of Computer\nScience developed the Basic Laboratory Information System (BLIS). \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring a\nsix-month pilot implementation in three hospital labs in Cameroon, BLIS\naccounted for a 66 percent decrease in errors and a 50 percent reduction in\nemployee workload. This led to significantly reduced waiting times, allowing twice as many patients to get tested\ndaily as compared to pre-BLIS operations. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBLIS is\neasy to use and intuitive,\u201d Sidney Atah, BLIS project coordinator in Cameroon, said.\n\u201cWhen configuring the software, you control the behavior and appearance of the\nsystem without modifying the program.\u201d\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBuilt from\nfreely available, open-source components, BLIS digitizes the traditional data\ntracking system, resulting in a sustainable program that tracks specimens,\nresults and workflow. Unlike similar software from commercial providers, BLIS\nis extremely cost-effective, works on limited resources, and requires virtually\nno training. Additionally, the system is designed to work effectively in\ncountries with very little IT infrastructure and limited connectivity.\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIntegrating\ndata tracking software in these labs has been difficult in the past, mainly due\nto high costs and the failure of other system providers to incorporate the\nvarying needs of labs and hospitals from different countries and cultures,\u201d said\nVempala, a professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Computer Science. \u201cWe wanted\nto design an extremely configurable system that would adapt to fit the needs of\nits users in order to improve workflow and patient care.\u201d \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EInstead of\nfollowing a one-size-fits-all approach, BLIS was designed to enable each lab or\ncountry to customize and configure the system in a way that suits them best. The\ndigital program seeks regular feedback from users and then incorporates this\nfeedback through system updates, resulting in a program that evolves with the\nneeds of the lab. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOver the\npast year, BLIS has been implemented in nine laboratories across three African\ncountries: Cameroon, Tanzania and Uganda. Vempala and his team have worked with\nlocal lab technicians, representatives from each country\u2019s ministry of health\nand local implementing partners to integrate BLIS into various labs across the\nthree countries. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr.\nMaurice Mouladje, lab director for Buea Regional Hospital in Cameroon, says\nBLIS has had a positive impact on both patients and staff. Physicians are able\nto attend to patients promptly, and BLIS provides flexibility in lab technician\nworkload. Similarly, Atah notes that BLIS\u2019s reach goes beyond increased\nefficiency and accuracy. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBLIS\nhas added confidence and hope in the quality of results and the ability of our\ninstitutions to provide quality care to patients,\u201d Atah says. \u201cIt makes me feel\nlike nothing is impossible to achieve; it is our African dream.\u201d\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy\nearly 2012, Vempala and his team of Georgia Tech graduate students, Amol\nShintre, Akshay Phalnikar and Anu Nair, plan to expand BLIS to labs in Ghana,\nin addition to incorporating the software in more clinics in Cameroon, Tanzania\nand Uganda. In the next year, he hopes to make BLIS available to any lab in the\ndeveloping world, which will also include access to local technical support for\na minimal fee\u003Cem\u003E. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EBLIS\nis a part of Georgia Tech\u2019s Computing for Good (C4G) initiative, which applies computing\nto social causes to improve quality of life around the world. For more\ninformation about BLIS, including user feedback and access to the software,\nvisit: \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/blis.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/blis.cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbout\nthe Georgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe\nGeorgia Tech College of Computing is a national leader in the creation of\nreal-world computing breakthroughs that drive social and scientific progress.\nWith its graduate program ranked ninth nationally by \u003Cem\u003EU.S. News and World Repor\u003C\/em\u003Et, the College\u2019s unconventional approach\nto education is defining the new face of computing by expanding the horizons of\ntraditional computer science students through interdisciplinary collaboration\nand a focus on human-centered solutions. For more information about the Georgia\nTech College of Computing, its academic divisions and research centers, please\nvisit http:\/\/\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ewww.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\u003EResearchers from the Georgia Tech College of Computing, working in\npartnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have\ndeveloped a digital data tracking system (BLIS) to assist low-resource clinical\nlaboratories in developing countries. During a six-month pilot implementation in three hospital labs in\nCameroon, BLIS accounted for a 66 percent decrease in errors and a 50 percent\nreduction in employee workload.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Digital data tracking system assists low-resource clinical laboratories in developing countries."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2011-11-08 17:33:43","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:38","author":"Jason Maderer","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:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blis.2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3045165,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/blis.2_0.jpg?itok=1cZCsf8r"}}},"media_ids":["72466"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Computing"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.scs.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech School of Computer Science"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"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\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4015\u003Cbr \/\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":""}}}