Disaster mobile health technology: lessons from Haiti

Area of Science:

• Disaster Medicine
• Health Informatics
• Mobile Health Technology

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) technology offers significant potential for enhancing disaster response operations.
• Key areas include victim tracking, triage, patient care, facility management, and decision-making.
• Current mHealth applications lack adequate functionality for austere disaster environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of a modified off-the-shelf mHealth application in a large-scale disaster setting.
• To assess the capabilities of the iChart application for disaster victim tracking and management.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative trial was conducted using a modified version of the iChart application.
• The trial took place at the Fond Parisien Disaster Rescue Camp during the Haiti earthquake response.
• Data collection involved a patient log of 617 unique entries.

Main Results:

• The iChart mHealth system facilitated provider triage and improved patient handoffs.
• It enabled tracking of vulnerable populations, including unaccompanied minors and those with specific injuries or diseases.
• The system supported field hospital administration and patient logging.

Conclusions:

• Even with limitations, the iChart application demonstrated improvement over existing disaster patient tracking systems.
• A unified electronic medical record and patient tracking system would significantly enhance first responder capabilities.
• The study highlights the value of mHealth in improving disaster medical response.