A Digital Platform for Disease Surveillance

Can a digital platform improve the tracking and response to malaria outbreaks?

Working with TARU Leading Edge, an Indian consulting firm, the Mobile Experience Lab explored how digital technologies might be used to aid health workers, particularly with communication problems that were adversely affecting their work. The lab team researched mobile health (mHealth) initiatives across the globe to learn how faster responses are being achieved elsewhere. The team then created a high-level concept with two components: a mobile application to enable health workers to keep track of patients more easily, and a Web dashboard to allow administrators to ensure that cases are being followed up properly. The platform supports communication among doctors, patients, and families, education about the disease, and diagnostic and treatment protocols.