Strengthening primary health care (PHC) through a digital platform

Strengthening primary health care (PHC) through a digital platform

SMART (Systematic Medical, Appraisal, Referral, and Treatment) health is a low-cost, technology-based, high-quality healthcare delivery system that provides healthcare workers with personalized clinical decision support (CDSS) to provide end to end support in the screening, management, treatment, referral, and follow-up of individuals with chronic diseases. It utilizes evidence-based algorithms and guidelines to help community health workers assess chronic disease risks for people in their community. The SMARThealth platform was primarily developed for management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Australia but has now been adapted and expanded in countries such as India, Indonesia and Thailand. It supports several other chronic conditions including mental health, diabetes, gestational diabetes, chronic kidney diseases, etc. 

Through the NIHR-GHRC we will extend these PHC strategies to tackle environmental hazards and a broader spectrum of health conditions. This expansion aims to cater to vulnerable communities experiencing environmental shifts while operating within fragile healthcare systems. Beyond its core function as a clinical decision support system (CDSS), SMARThealth will be enhanced to serve as a versatile tool for conducting surveys, household listings, and implementing early warning systems. This expanded functionality will enable more proactive and effective healthcare delivery, ultimately improving the health and well-being of targeted populations.

Our team
Our SMARThealth initiative is led by Dr. D Praveen, the Global Strategic Priority Lead for Better Care and the Director of Primary Health Care and Health Systems Science. Under his leadership, our team is committed to delivering innovative healthcare solutions to enhance primary healthcare services.
 
Key Team Members:

Technical team:  Sridevi Gara, Lead, Technology Lead; Shahjahan Basha, Senior PHP Developer 
 
Research team:  Tripura Batchu, Program Manager; Renu John, PhD Scholar; Sabhya Pritwani, Research Officer
 
Mobile app team: Mahesh Kumar Godi, Android Developer; Nirosha Yeddalapudi, Junior Android Developer
 
Quality assurance: Ramya Sirisha Kandarpa, Quality Assurance Engineer