Current status of digital health interventions in the health system in Burkina Faso.

BACKGROUND: Digital health is being used as an accelerator to improve the traditional healthcare system, aiding countries in achieving their sustainable development goals. Burkina Faso aims to harmonize its digital health interventions to guide its digital health strategy for the coming years. The current assessment represents upstream work to steer the development of this strategic plan. METHODS: This was a quantitative, descriptive study conducted between September 2022 and April 2023. It involved a two-part survey: a self-administered questionnaire distributed to healthcare information managers in facilities, and direct interviews conducted with software developers. This was complemented by a documentary review of the country's strategic and standards documents on digital transformation. RESULTS: Burkina Faso possesses a relatively comprehensive collection of governance documents pertaining to digital transformation. The study identified a total of 35 digital health interventions. Analysis showed that 89% of funding originated from technical and financial partners as well as the private sector. While the use of open-source technologies for the development of the applications, software, or platforms used to implement these digital health interventions is well established (77%), there remains a deficiency in the integration of data from different platforms. Furthermore, the classification of digital health interventions revealed an uneven distribution between the different elements across domains: the health system, the classification of digital health interventions (DHI), and the subsystems of the National Health Information System (NHIS). Most digital health intervention projects are still in the pilot phase (66%), with isolated electronic patient record initiatives remaining incomplete. Within the public sector, these records typically take the form of electronic registers or isolated specialty records in a hospital. Within the private sector, tool implementation varies based on expressed needs. Challenges persist in adhering to interoperability norms and standards during tool design, with minimal utilization of the data generated by the implemented tools. CONCLUSION: This study provides an insightful overview of the digital health environment in Burkina Faso and highlights significant challenges regarding intervention strategies. The findings serve as a foundational resource for developing the digital health strategic plan. By addressing the identified shortcomings, this plan will provide a framework for guiding future digital health initiatives effectively.

Evaluation of non-conformities in the drafting of bulletins for urine cytobacteriological examinations at Sikasso Hospital (Mali).

Background: Non-compliance in the drafting of examination bulletins makes it difficult to perform them and interpret the results. With the aim of continuously improving laboratory services and guaranteeing the quality of urine cytobacteriological examination (ECBU) results, we initiated this study to evaluate non-compliance in the drafting of ECBU reports. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study which focused on non-compliance in the drafting of ECBU reports analysed in the laboratory from January to December 2022. Results: During the study period, we collected 383 non-compliant ECBU reports out of 672, with a frequency of 56.99%. Non-compliances were related to age (2.68%), profession (24.40%), clinical information (6.70%) and residence (52.08%). The majority of non-compliant reports came from the medicine (35.51%) and urology (25.85%) departments. Conclusion: The high frequency of non-compliance is a cause for concern and is of concern to all prescribers in this hospital.