Digitalisation and health care - Visit to the Sainte Thérèse Centre (Burundi)

What does it involve? What are the stages of such a transition? The Sainte-Thérèse hospital opened its doors to us to discover the first stages of its transition towards the digitalization of its infrastructures.

After having collaborated in the installation of solar panels and servers allowing the beginnings of a stable connection, the preparatory work is underway and Dr. Lamberta Nakabandi, the director, explains to us what she expects from these new installations.

Improved patient follow-up and quality of service

By digitalising the patient files, the hospital hopes to be able to guarantee a qualitative and rapid follow-up of pathologies and care, and to relieve the nursing staff of many administrative tasks so that they can concentrate on care. In addition, the administrative staff see with these new technologies and equipment, an opportunity for a better follow-up of invoices and files allowing them to save costs. In addition, by digitising certain facilities, care staff will get the opportunity to contact colleagues sometimes located at great distances to seek their expertise and advice.

"Thanks to digitalisation, the other person knows what I know. It's important to follow up on the patient and it relieves the burden on other departments such as reception and billing (...). We hope to be able to develop a better follow-up of invoices to ensure the hospital's economy.”

Saving space

It is not uncommon to see a lot of files accumulating in cabinets and taking up space that could be used for real health purposes. This is why digitisation is also welcomed at this level as a breath of fresh air.

The care and management team is obviously aware that these developments imply organisational and budgetary changes in order to be able to continue, in the long term, the maintenance and use of the equipment. In this dynamic, the project and hospital teams are working closely together to ensure a long-term and sustainable implementation. "The healthcare teams are very positive about the arrival of digitalisation because they hope to be able to be in contact with other health centres further away more quickly, but above all to be able to concentrate on their medical tasks rather than having to lose themselves in a lot of paper files.

Discover her testimonial in video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...