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Process Mining for Quality Improvement in Malawi
Dumisani Nkhoma1, Matthias John2, Usman Iqbal1
1Institute of Evidence Based Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Robina, QLD, Australia.
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
|May 23, 2026
Summary
Process mining offers an objective, data-driven approach to improve non-communicable disease (NCD) program management in Malawi. This method enhances quality improvement by analyzing patient data to identify and resolve clinic workflow inefficiencies, boosting attendance and treatment adherence.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Health Informatics
- Process Mining Applications
Background:
- Long waiting times in Malawi's non-communicable disease (NCD) programs lead to poor clinic attendance and treatment default.
- Existing quality improvement (QI) practices, like root-cause analysis, are often subjective and lack data-driven insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and describe the first protocol for implementing process mining (PM) in Malawi's healthcare system for NCD program management.
- To demonstrate the feasibility and utility of PM as an objective, data-driven approach to complement existing QI methods.
- To enhance clinical efficiency and quality improvement initiatives within Malawi's NCD program.
Main Methods:
- Sequential mixed-methods design combining qualitative (focus group discussions, key-informant interviews, document review) and quantitative process mining.
- Qualitative data analysis using thematic analysis to identify perceived workflow bottlenecks.
- Quantitative process mining involving data extraction, pre-processing, clustering, mining, and visualization using algorithms like Heuristic or Fuzzy miner, presented as Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) nets.
Main Results:
- The study protocol outlines the systematic implementation of process mining in the Malawian healthcare context.
- Process mining is expected to reveal process variations and inefficiencies in NCD patient care pathways.
- The integration of PM is anticipated to provide a scalable tool for evidence-based monitoring of healthcare processes.
Conclusions:
- Process mining offers a valuable, objective, and data-driven complement to traditional quality improvement methods in NCD program management.
- Implementing process mining in Malawi's NCD program can enhance clinical efficiency, improve patient attendance, and reduce treatment default.
- With the rise of electronic health records, process mining presents a scalable solution for monitoring and improving healthcare quality.
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