Health In Hand

The subcenter

at the grassroot level of the healthcare system typically has 2-5 villages

with a population of 5,000 to 8,0000 under it. The auxiliary nurse midwive

(ANM), usually a woman with an educational qualification of up to Class

7 or 10, is the point of contact for the villagers, going from house to

house, dispensing the healthcare services. She is also required to generate

reports on the health issues, the causes of the health problems, which

takes up most of her time, leaving her with little time for the actual

dispensation of her services.

Apple Computers, in 1994,

identified this area as the ideal testing ground for its Newton MessagePad,

as the Health Ministry also showed interest, and CMC soon was involved

as it was interested in designing user interfaces. Ajmer in Rajasthan

was selected for the purpose as it is neither as highly developed as Kerala

nor as underdeveloped as Bihar. Five to six ANMs, with no prior knowledge

of computers, were given the PDAs. "We did not tell them that it

is a computer, as that can prove to be a mental block, but told them these

were information appliances," says M Naresh Kumar Reddy, Senior Project

Manager, CMC. A multidisciplinary team was in place for effecting improvisations

as and when required.

The objectives were to provide

support tools that would reduce the ANMs time in making the report, and

increase the accuracy of the data. The next was an attempt to ensure ruggedness

of the device being used due to the difficult conditions, understanding

the hierarchy and replicating an ANM’s day to ensure easier handling of

the device.

One of the first hurdles

was that the ANM did not have the time to sit down and key in her data.

A graphical user interface and a pen replaced the keyboard. With this,

the ANM had to only click on the relevant icons and the data would be

generated. The icons intuitively captured the whole gamut of her activities,

including the healthcare services, the families and a provision for prioritizing

her schedule. While writing in English was possible, since the ANM was

most likely not comfortable in Hindi, an online keyboard was integrated

for her to press on the keys and write the report.

At the end of the day, this

data can be beamed to the desktop at the Public Health Center (PHC). The

desktop beams back her schedule for the next day and any other relevant

details. The data thus beamed is immediately available for analysis and

taking immediate action.

Since availability of power

is not good and replacing the battery not an easy alternative, CMC designed

a solar carry case for the recharging of the batter without any extra

effort. A rubber cover for the serial ports and a lid to cover the display

screen were designed to protect it against dust. The PDA went 2 levels

of field trial before being modified and after the 3 trial with the improvisations,

was given to an ANM totally unfamiliar with the device. "It took

a day of hand-holding and after that the ANM could use it easily,"

says Reddy.

The advantages of this were

that data reached on time for action to be taken. Similarly, instead of

spreading resources thin, effective utilization was possible. Its effectiveness

can be judged by the reaction of an ANM, "If the Government does

not provide us with this device, I am willing to buy it." The cost,

at this stage, however, is a major deterrent.

In future, Just in Time training

programs will also be provided on the PDA, keeping the healthcare worker

ready with tips on epidemics, precautions, etc, whenever needed.

Seeing the success of this

project, CMC now intends implementing it at the district level in Andhra

Pradesh and in Rajasthan at some subcenters with part funding from both

Governments. The company has also submitted to the World Bank’s Infodev

division a project report for an approximate fund of $250,000.

Since Newton has been discontinued,

CMC will look for alternatives in Windows CE-based devices. "Maintenance

is the only issue. However, we already have resource centers for rural

areas, which can double up for maintaining these systems," said Reddy.

Once the district level pilot is over, the ball will be in the Health

Ministry’s court to implement it across the country.

Net, Set and Go..



...A cliché every one dreams of but barely
achieves because of the absence of an e-commerce strategy.

Business

at the speed of thought. No, this is not the review of Bill Gates’ latest

book but words that express what everyone dreams is possible with the

Internet. While the Internet may help achieve it for businesses operating

from the physical world, setting up a profitable business in the virtual

world is much more difficult.

E-commerce has captured the

imagination of all existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. However, what

is lacking is an understanding of how doing business on the Net is different

from having a presence on the Web. It requires a clear understanding of

customer needs, a breaking away from the physical world of business to

integrating the channel partners online. Of finding new partners that

may not go with the traditional core business but are important for providing

end-to-end solutions. Of brand building and contact management.

Explaining this concept,

Vivek Kwatra, GM Sales and Marketing, Cambridge Technology Partners, says,

"For any successful e-commerce site, myths about e-commerce have

to be shattered." The myth that an entrepreneur understands and knows

the needs of the customer, that e-commerce is the same as e-business,

that call centers are enough to reach out to the customers, that integrating

the customer, the product and marketing data is a pipedream and that the

digital economy is not relevant to his business.

The reality is that the customer

drives the business. And, the customer needs speed. He needs the solutions

yesterday, and being unable to give it even today is a good sign to shut

down shop. E-business is more than the website. Its success is dependent

on technology, processes and scalability. It is an effective way for contact

interaction and should be the main way to do business.

Without a strategy in place,

the word ‘e-commerce’ alone cannot see the success of the site. It requires

an understanding of what you seek to do on the Net, what is the type of

products/services being offered and who is the target. Once this is identified,

an analysis of the business potential of the product/services is essential

as without a clear deadline for return on investment and cost cutting,

the money could well flow down the drain. Once the potential is understood,

the entrepreneur can move onto product definition, design, development

and rollout. However, since speed is the key, a fixed price/fixed time

approach is the best, suggests Kwatra. "Most companies understand

fixed price but fixed time is hardly given any importance," he adds.

And missed deadlines is suicidal.

However, once the rollout

stage is crossed, it is still not time to put your feet up and relax.

Traffic generation is the only way to ensure the success of the site.

While this can be achieved through advertisements and other similar brand

building exercises, a lot of it depends on drawing from customer database

obtained through key questions included in the feedback form and devising

new schemes for repeat visits. A caution here is that promising what cannot

be delivered is a sure-fire way of losing visitors to the site. Which

means, having the technology and the systems to deliver the promises.

Being a new medium, the models

and technologies are not standardized and it is anybody’s game. At this

stage, the only savior can be a clear strategy, understanding of the target

market, a plan for return on investments and an eye on cost cutting. This

has to be backed with systems and technologies that can help realize the

goals.

S

Meera



Cyber News Service