Every year, infectious diseases claim over 1,96,000 lives of children in India — a majority of which can be prevented*. If there was a way to predict where a disease outbreak is likely to occur, timely action can be taken to prevent it.
HealthWatch, on the one hand, is a disease reporting tool for doctors, and on the other hand, an analytics tool to help researchers and epidemiologists predict potential disease outbreaks and manage them. The main stakeholders of HealthWatch are WHO, IDSP, Epidemiologists, Researchers and Media.
The HealthWatch platform (pilot in Delhi-NCR) consists of 2 parts:
- a smart phone app
- a map-based analytics dashboard
Doctors can use the App to report diseases as they diagnose them. Each disease and associated symptoms are mapped to the doctor’s location. Data obtained through the App is aggregated and presented in real-time on a map for healthcare professionals to identify vulnerable areas and take appropriate measures to manage the spread of diseases.
Highlights
- Accurate, sanitized reporting of disease by doctor by giving them a tool on their mobile and eliminating the need for a paper form
- Real-time tracking and analysis of disease spread; may lead to prevention of disease spread to epidemic proportions
- Timely detection of epidemic will allow for timely intervention to provide healthcare measures — drugs, equipment and practitioners — on location
- A more accurate analysis of possible causes/symptom of disease in an area
View the HealthWatch Reporting Dashboard
* Source:
K. Morris, S., G. Bassani, D., Awasthi, S., Kumar, R., Shet, A., Suraweera, W., & Jha, P. (2011, May 24). Diarrhea, Pneumonia, and Infectious Disease Mortality in Children Aged 5 to 14 Years in India. Retrieved November 5, 2014, (link)
