This abstract has been accepted at the 2024 DHIS2 Annual Conference
Digital Transformation in Healthcare: A Case Study of DHIS2 Implementation in URCS
Following the 2022 escalation of armed conflict, Ukraine faced severe socio-economic challenges, exacerbating healthcare accessibility issues for both locals and internally displaced persons (IDPs). To address this, the Ukrainian Red Cross (URCS) initiated Mobile Health Units (MHU) projects in over 20 regions across the country with the support of Movement partners. MHUs, comprising doctors, nurses, and drivers, play a pivotal role in delivering primary healthcare amidst wartime and humanitarian crises. In October 2022, the Norwegian Red Cross introduced DHIS2 in Ternopil and Khmelnitsky to digitize MHU operations, demonstrating the tools effectiveness in individual clinical case management and data analysis/reporting. Consequently, URCS extended DHIS2 adoption across all Ukrainian regions, establishing it as the primary CRM system. Accompanying this expansion were tailored training materials, user guides, and cascaded training sessions. The rapid scale-up of the DHIS2 implementation can be attributed to several key factors. Firstly, URCS’ Digital Transformation Unit hired two dedicated staff to be part of the core team responsible for the scale-up and ongoing support of DHIS2. Moreover, close collaboration and mentoring support were fostered between the core team members and the Norwegian Red Cross counterpart. Overall, key digital development principles including capacitating key personnel from the outset through training and collaborative troubleshooting have proved beneficial. Technically, the simplicity of DHIS2 for end-users, the flexibility of DHIS2’s configuration, and the offline capability of the Android app, have all been foundational to the platform’s rapid adoption. In response to the need to align with national legislation and to achieve greater autonomy in making system modifications, the URCS has made the strategic decision to assume local ownership of its national DHIS2 instance requiring the migration of the database to its own servers. The data migration process was handled by BAO Systems. Though the final validations are still in progress, since all MHUs have started to URCS DHIS2 instance since mid-January of 2024. Despite challenges, URCS remains committed to DHIS2’s development in Ukraine. Future endeavors include extending the system for rehabilitation and Home Based Care (HBC) programs, with initial training sessions scheduled for January 2024.
Primary Author: Mykhailo Siusko
Keywords:
Digital Transformation, Healthcare, DHIS2, URCS, MHU, HBC, Rehabilitation
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