Any meaningful analysis of data depends entirely on the quality of data that is captured. And the method to capture data, which is still quite common in fieldwork, is the paper form. Even where technology is deployed, the process is brought with vulnerabilities making the data either stale or inaccurate. Mobile viz, using smart devices to replace incumbent methods promises to solve all problems in a single shot. Ideafarms's Heathwatch is a prototype solution that shows the power of this idea in the area of Disease Surveillance and Proactive Management of Epidemics.

1. Mobile Technology in Healthcare Audit
HealthWatch – A disease surveillance platform
International Centre for Information Systems and Audit (iCISA)
124A Bilateral Training Programme
FBSA, Republic of Iraq
Session IV: Disease surveillance – Role of Technology
27 April 2015
Sunil Malhotra
Founder, Ideafarms

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The under-utilized information system
The past few years have seen an exponential rise in Smartphone usage. From
accessing email, to getting directions, mobile technology has turned the phone into a
powerful, if under-utilized, information system.
A Smartphone is easy to use, portable and has a powerful feature set which has
immense potential to be used in a variety of applications.
To begin exploring this potential, one may consider a single use-case – data
analysis.
Data analysis – the traditional way
Any meaningful analysis of data depends entirely on the quality of data that is
captured. And the method to capture data, which is still quite common in fieldwork, is
the paper form.
Data collected through paper forms has several inherent problems. The first is the
time lag between when the data is captured, and when it is available for analysis.
The second problem is that of data integrity. Forms filled in manually are susceptible
to errors during data capture, as well as during data transfer. The third, and perhaps
the most critical problem, is that of data authenticity. Paper forms can very easily be
used to generate false information.
Raw aggregated data – typically tabulated – is not user friendly. It requires filtering in
order to be useful for decision and policy making.
A Smarter way to capture data
Involving technology can eliminate many of the problems related to data collection,
and offer user-friendly solutions for displaying and analysing data.
Data Analysis Chain

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Capturing data digitally does away with the need for manual data entry, reducing time
as well as the possibility of errors during data transfer. Since a smart device is
capable of storing rules for validation, data can be sanitized at the point of capture,
further ensuring quality of data. Data can be synced to the cloud in near real-time,
thus making it available immediately and irrespective of geographic location.
Data captured by mobile devices are automatically authentic. By binding data capture
with access controls, it is possible to map each dataset to a device and the user of
the device. The advantages are two-fold. First, the dataset can be captured by
authorized individuals only, and second, the authorized individual can be held
accountable, as the dataset is mapped to the user.
HealthWatch – A Case study in Disease Surveillance
Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme
The Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) was launched under the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to detect and respond to disease outbreaks
quickly. Under the project, disease surveillance data on epidemic prone diseases are
collected on a weekly basis, through email, telephone and paper and digital forms.
Due to the weekly nature of data collection and multiplicity of data collection
channels, there is a higher risk of loss of data integrity. This data is then analysed
Disease outbreak report (source: idsp.nic.in)

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and disseminated in the form of static reports, typically with a lag of 3 - 6 weeks.
Disease Surveillance with HealthWatch
Every year, infectious diseases claim over 1,96,000 lives of children in India — a
majority of which can be prevented. If there was a way to predict where a disease
outbreak is likely to occur, timely action can be taken to prevent it. It was with this
thought that Ideafarms partnered with St. Stephen’s Hospital to develop the
HealthWatch platform.
HealthWatch, on the one hand, is a disease reporting tool for
doctors, and on the other hand, an analytics tool to help
researchers and epidemiologists predict potential disease
outbreaks and manage them. The main stakeholders of
HealthWatch are WHO, IDSP, Epidemiologists, Researchers
and Media.
The HealthWatch platform (pilot in Delhi-NCR) consists of 2
parts:
• a smart phone app
• a map-based analytics dashboard

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Doctors use the App to report diseases as they diagnose them. Each disease and
associated symptoms are mapped to the doctor’s location. Data obtained through the
App is aggregated and presented in real-time on a map for healthcare professionals
to identify vulnerable areas and take appropriate measures to manage the spread of
diseases.
Beyond data capture – Display & Analytics
Data that is captured from the mobile application is aggregated in near real-time and
displayed on a map-based dashboard to quickly view the spread of diseases and
identify vulnerable spots.
The intuitive graphical display of data helps epidemiologists detect a disease
epidemic at an early stage, so that remedial actions can be put in place to manage it.
It is even possible to prevent a potential disease outbreak.
Being an interactive tool, the web reporting dashboard can be used to compare
disease data on the basis of time and location, to spot patterns, and even to
evaluate the effectiveness of special programs by nonprofits, government and civic
agencies.

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Highlights
• Accurate, sanitized reporting of disease by doctor by giving them a tool on
their mobile and eliminating the need for a paper form
• Real-time tracking and analysis of disease spread; may lead to prevention of
disease spread to epidemic proportions
• Timely detection of epidemic will allow for timely intervention to provide
healthcare measures — drugs, equipment and practitioners — on location
• A more accurate analysis of possible causes/symptom of disease in an area
The power of the HealthWatch platform lies in its ability to
1. Capture data accurately in near real-time;
2. Display it on a Google Map interface that can be navigated easily; and
3. Allow interactions with the data in a way that helps analysis in an
intuitive manner.
The above features provide a toolkit for effective disease surveillance and proactive
epidemic management.

7. About Ideafarms
Ideafarms is a company located in the National Capital Region
of India. Ideafarms has had the distinction of being a
trustworthy and competent “smartsourcing” partner of the
Continental AG IT organisation for close to a decade.
Ideafarms has a wide range of competencies for its clients and
partners: it is a Design-led Innovation company that takes
responsibility for the overall user experience across platforms,
viz. Desktops and Mobile devices.
For over 2 years Ideafarms has successfully operated its
SoLoMo (Social, Local, Mobile) Platform through DealChaat –
a hyperlocal advertising and communication conduit between
shoppers and small physical retailers. This has given the
company the chance to understand and work deeply with
Technology (Cloud, Web, Mobile), Design (UI/UX) and Social
Media Channels (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)
www.ideafarms.com
HQ: C 94A, South City 1. GURGAON 122001 Tel: +91 124 4075513
Registered Office: D 3171, Vasant Kunj. NEW DELHI 110070

8. PRODUCTS
DealChaat
A hyperlocal mobile advertising platform for physical retailers
Website: http://dealchaat.in
Blog: http://dealchaat.in/blog
Play Store: http://bit.ly/QuQhQJ
iTunes: http://apple.co/1hAE05O
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/DealChaat
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dealchaat
YouTube: http://bitly.com/1Odhz65
HealthWatch
Mobile Epidemic monitoring and disease surveillance
About HealthWatch: http://bit.ly/1PtLglG
HealthWatch dashboard: http://bit.ly/1Emr3um
Play Store: http://bit.ly/1uvAH8O