Techonology to make things easy

It is difficult at times to understand the reluctance of people to use technology when it will simplify matters and allow them to concentrate on more important activities.

In a recent study, by Sharma RC; Dutt SC presented at the World Health Forum 210 shows multipurpose workers and 47 supervisors at the peripheral level in seven states in India replied to a questionnaire requesting information on the amount of time spent maintaining registers and preparing elaborate monthly reports. More than two-thirds worked in Gujarat, while the rest worked in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Meghalaya. It was found that, on average, multipurpose health workers spend 1.5 hours per day updating their records and 15.1 hours preparing each monthly report. Assuming an eight-hour work day and 22 work days per month, they spend 28% of their working time recording and reporting. Supervisors spend an average of 1.6 hours daily and an additional 19 hours for monthly reporting, or 31% of their working time. Government-published statistics therefore indicate that approximately US$45 million are spent annually on record keeping and reporting at this level. An urgent need clearly exists to develop a health management information system to reduce the record-keeping workload of health workers at all levels. A computer-based system is specifically recommended.

We hope that something is done soon at this level to ensure that the focus of health workers remains health and not filing papers.