Cost and implementation analysis of a personal digital assistant system for laboratory data collection

Area of Science:

• Public Health Informatics
• Health Systems Research
• Infectious Disease Surveillance

Background:

• A personal digital assistant (PDA)-based system was previously shown to reduce data collection delays and errors for tuberculosis (TB) laboratory results compared to traditional paper-based methods.
• The study addresses the need for efficient data collection in resource-limited settings, specifically focusing on public health centers and laboratories lacking internet access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the data collection efficiency of PDA-based versus paper-based systems for TB laboratory results.
• To determine the resources (cost and time) required for developing, implementing, and transferring the PDA-based system to a resource-poor environment.

Main Methods:

• A time-motion study was conducted to compare the efficiency of PDA-based and paper-based data collection systems.
• A cost analysis was performed to assess the financial and temporal investments for system development, implementation, and transfer to a local organization.

Main Results:

• Work hours for collecting and processing TB laboratory results decreased by 60% (P < 0.001) with the PDA system.
• Users reported a perceived 70% decrease in work hours and successfully resolved all technical issues encountered.
• The total cost and time to develop and implement the PDA system were US$26,092 and 22 weeks, respectively. Extending the system to nine additional districts cost $1,125, and adding patient weight collection cost $4,107.

Conclusions:

• A PDA-based system significantly reduces the effort needed for collecting TB laboratory results from remote, underserved locations.
• The described framework, utilizing open-source software and local development, enables organizations in resource-poor settings to adopt and benefit from this efficient data collection technology.