Abstract
A Drug Management Application (DMA) provides health care facilities with a tool to enhance drug inventory and drug orders. The objective of conducting the field tests was to evaluate attitudes, effective use and effects of the DMA during a time-limited trial at carefully selected rural health centers. At the end of the field-tests, rural health workers reported several benefits experienced through using the DMA including: (i) it is a time-saving approach for ordering drugs; (ii) it allows feedback from the drugs distribution center; (iii) it is cost-effective since transport costs are eliminated; (iv) it facilitates effective inventory management; (v) it presents an opportunity to monitor and stay within the drugs budget of the health facility. This contributes to the implementation of rational drug management and use of medicines.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to: the Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions (SPIDER) for funding the field-tests. AGLARBRI partners especially Prof. Bjorn Pehrson, Dr. Amos Nungu, Prof. Lars L Gustafsson, Joseph Ngenzi for the research partnership and support. The Joint Medical Stores, Bishop Caeser Asili Hospital, Family Life Education Programme and Mawundo Health Center for accepting to participate in the field tests.
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© 2015 Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
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Otim, J.S., Obua, C., Kamulegeya, G., Mwotil, A., Matsiko, P. (2015). Field Testing a Drug Management Application at Ugandan Health Facilities. In: Nungu, A., Pehrson, B., Sansa-Otim, J. (eds) e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries. AFRICOMM 2014. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 147. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16886-9_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16886-9_13
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