Health Cards (14)
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Paula Tavrow wrote:
In discussion with colleagues here, another concern about the health card
was raised...
Paula,
A very good point indeed. Now can you tell me what portion of WCBA
in a defined population would find it necessary to keep their use of FP
a secret? Current systems keep a register at the local clinic. How secure
do you think those registers are? How much would it cost a local family
member to purchase information out of one of those registers?
Now if this is a viable concern, could it not be addressed with optional
coding (known only to the HCWs) to indicate the FP method? I think that
the medical community is capable of maintaining privacy within the context
of the health card.
Thanks for your concerns. Can you provide a solution to your concern within
the context of the CHC?
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Dr. Mike Adelhardt wrote:
mmhh....shall i say something now or keep quiet?.....the point with
*bar coding* was rather meant as a little hint that someone might be
overdoing something....
Hello Mike,
Thanks for your hint. Yes, I did consider that perhaps you
had considered the CHC a bit of overkill, but I was erring on the positive
side. Thanks for the clarification.
Yes, 50 to 60 pages does seem a bit excessive, especially when most "cards"
are one page with two sides, but one needs to remember the context of the
cards use. Please refer to the Health Card outline that I forwarded
previously. We would anticipate that the CHC would be used to document
services at the delivery level, and in conjunction with the IMPACT software
that is currently under development.
In regards to your 11 page maternal booklet, is the data that is written
in the booklet used by those who are doing the documentation? If it is
not used by them, then it is useless. You might as well have a rock
collection. Please analyse the previous CHC outline contents and let me
know which items are not either utilized by the immediate caregiver
(mother etc.) or by a PHC worker in LOCAL clinical setting?
Also, a vast majority of 50 - 60 pages of the CHC will be devoted to
training and reference. Do caregivers remember the formula for ORS? Do
they remember the danger signs for ARI? What if every home in a village
had documentation showing ( both in literate and illiterate terminology)
recognition and treatment for diarrhoea, ARI, malaria, malnutrition and
pneumonia? Even in communities with a low literacy rate, there is almost
always someone who is literate and would be able to reference a CHC for
diagnosis and treatment protocols.
I agree, in the context of the developing world, simple is better. My
background is computers, why would I be advocating the use of a CHC?
Computers in every setting are not appropriate.
Thanks for your input. Looking forward to your response.
Bill
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William Billingsley
Impact Demographic Health Surveillance Information Systems
Application Software Technologies, Inc.
1841 South Ridge Road
Green Bay, WI 54304, USA
Tel.800-992-0533
Tel. +1-414-499-0533
Tel. +1-414-655-3962 (Cell)
Fax +1-414-490-3218
Tel. +1-715-823-6375 (Home)
mailto:wbillingsley@aztechcon.com
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