Hybrid data capture for monitoring patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in urban Botswana.
Individual patient care and programme evaluation are pivotal for the success of antiretroviral treatment programmes in resource-limited countries. While computer-aided documentation and data storage are indispensable for any large programme, several important issues need to be addressed including which data are to be collected, who collects it and how it is entered into an electronic database. We describe a patient-monitoring approach, which uses patient encounter forms (in hybrid paper + electronic format) based on optical character recognition, piloted at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana's first public highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) outpatient clinic. Our novel data capture approach collects "key" data for tracking patient and programme outcomes. It saves physician time and does not detract from clinical care.
Bussmann
Hermann
H
Botswana-Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative Partnership, Gaborone, Botswana.
Wester
C William
CW
Ndwapi
Ndwapi
N
Vanderwarker
Chris
C
Gaolathe
Tendani
T
Tirelo
Geoffrey
G
Avalos
Ava
A
Moffat
Howard
H
Marlink
Richard G
RG
D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D001902:Botswana; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D003628:Database Management Systems; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D016249:Optical Storage Devices; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors
D012367:RNA, Viral