Description of Session
Data driven decisions to improve the quality of Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) care at public health facilities in India has been challenging due to inadequate recording, multiple paper based registers, errors in data recording and reporting, lack of key indicators in service statistics, manual collation and delay in availability of data. Digitization of labour room client case records would help healthcare providers in readily collating and analyzing data and aid them in effective monitoring of key indicators of MNH care. This effective monitoring would ensure optimum recording of data and motivate health workers to adhere to essential clinical practices. Hence, as per a suggestion from the Government of India to test a digital solution, the Maternity Wing Management Information System (MWMIS) was developed and rolled out in the state of Rajasthan with technical assistance from Jhpiego. Post-facto digitization of 40 essential data elements from each client case record by data entry operators posted at the facilities was proposed, keeping feasibility in mind. The system has inbuilt data analytics and dashboards which are readily accessible by district, state and national level program managers and utilized for effective program review and decision-making in order to improve the quality of care around childbirth provided by the facilities. Till date, 63,486 labour room case sheets have been entered in MWMIS. Completeness of critical indicators rose from 48% in November 2018 to 77% in March 2019. Adherence to key clinical practices also improved during the same period such as assessment of mother’s BP (25% to 87%) and temperature (86% to 94%) at discharge, assessment of mother’s temperature and BP at admission (82% to 95% each) and fetal heart sound (89% to 96%).
