Design of a Telemedicine-based system for Clinic-In-A-Can

Abstract

We describe an ongoing initiative to bring a reliable and sustainable healthcare infrastructure through Clinic-In-ACan (CIAN) and telemedicine to rural communities in Kajokeji, South Sudan. CIAN is a self-contained medical clinic built in a shipping container and deployed, ready for use, anywhere in the world to provide an emergency healthcare infrastructure. Telemedicine is used to deliver healthcare and share medical knowledge over a distance using telecommunication and information technology. We describe a design of a telecommunications system that facilitates the operation of the telemedicine network in Kajokeji county by connecting all local Primary Health Care Units (PHCU) to the Clinic-In-A-Can and to the regional hospital in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan. The model includes a web based telemedicine system, which provides basic services for medical tele-consultation via both audio and video conferencing. The system will be used to facilitate the communications between nurse and physicians; community health worker (CHW) and nurse; physician to patient. We include a database design to store computerized medical records. This relational database will be used by healthcare providers to store, retrieve and update patient information, generate referrals, and provide feedback to referrals through a Graphic User Interface (GUI).