Digitized Maternal Early Warning and Response Telehealth System

Abstract

Introduction

In this article, we describe a pilot telehealth project for identifying women at risk of developing serious complications early and for instituting timely, appropriate, and up-to-date management even in situations with limited resources and skilled obstetric services. Maternal mortality remains unacceptably high, with less than two-thirds of the signatories to the 2015 Millennium Development Goals achieving the outlined 75% reduction in maternal mortality ratio (MMR) from 1990 to 2015. Looking forward to 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) lay out a target of reducing the MMR in every country to below 70 per 100,000 live births. This will require progress in low-and-middle-income countries at a rate much greater than that seen over the past 15 years. Given that 94% of the global maternal deaths occur in low- and-middle-income countries, a solution to meet the unique challenges of these countries will be necessary to achieve the SDG. The Women’s Obstetrical Neonatal Death and Reduction (WONDER) telehealth system described here offers a potential telehealth solution to reduce mortality and morbidity rates in resource-limited environments by early identification of risk indicators and initiation of care.

Materials and methods

The WONDER system consists of a cloud-based electronic health record with a Clinical Decision Support tool and a color-coded alert system. The Clinical Decision Support tool is based upon Maternal Early Warning Signs and provides real-time assistance to caregivers via relevant national treatment guidelines. This system uses inexpensive computing hardware, displays, and cell-phone technology. This system was tested in a 2-year pilot study in India. A total of 15,184 patients were monitored during labor and the postpartum period.

Results

Within limitations of the study, the incidence of in-hospital eclampsia was reduced by 91.7%, and in 95% of cases, timely treatment was started within an hour of identifying the abnormality in vital signs. Maternal mortality was reduced by 50.1% over local benchmark figures.

Conclusions

The WONDER system identified at-risk patients, directed skilled care to those patients at risk for complications, and helped to institute effective, timely treatment, demonstrating a potential solution for women in resource-limited locations.