KENYA – Proximie has teamed up with Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins University affiliate, on a safe surgery project in Kenya to layer in their unique software that allows physicians anywhere in the world to virtually “scrub-in” and mentor colleagues in real time.
Proximie has offered its technology to Jhpiego, a global health non-profit working in 40-plus countries, to improve obstetric surgical care for women by expanding and enhancing the learning and mentorship in Jhpiego’s Obstetric Safe Surgery project now underway in five hospitals in Makueni County.
The goal of the 22-month project is to support the government of Kenya’s commitment to reduce maternal and newborn deaths and obstetric-related injuries by improving the quality of caesarean sections. Seventy-one percent of facility-based maternal deaths in Kenya are associated with caesarean sections, and 9 out of 10 maternal deaths are linked to a lack of quality standardized care.
Funded by Johnson & Johnson, the Jhpiego-led project is grounded in a health-systems approach, leveraging local expertise to build networks of care to deliver safe and timely surgical obstetric care. The Proximie platform offers the prospect of enhanced and expanded learning by obstetric surgical teams.
Supporting the design and evaluation of the enhanced OSS project is Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr. Doris Mbithi, Medical Superintendent of the Mother and Child Hospital in Makueni County and a partner on the OSS project, said the Jhpiego-Proximie alliance will help surgeons perfect their skills and address issues that arise.
“Sometimes things happen in the (operating) theatre and not all team members remember the process,” she said. “With the recordings, we can identify gaps and rectify. I am also happy that at night, I have the possibility to support remotely, either at my hospital or to help keep a potential referral at the sub county hospital by consulting remotely.”
Dr. John Varallo, Global Director Safe Surgery at Jhpiego, said the partnership can increase the impact realized thus far: “By offering real-time, remote surgical consultation, this project has the true potential of being a game-changer in improving the safety and quality of surgical care in Kenya, and in other countries where Jhpiego works.
Collaborating with innovative thought leaders at Proximie and Ariadne Labs, and continuing to work in close partnership with the government of Kenya and the surgical teams on the ground, our true champions of the Obstetric Safe Surgery work, we have the opportunity to amplify the progress made in surgical safety and quality to date.”
Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram, CEO of Proximie, said she founded Proximie “on the ethos that shared knowledge leads to accelerated learning and better patient care,” and the Obstetric Safe Surgery project embodies that.
“Our work with the local surgical teams on the ground in Kenya, and with Jhpiego, and Ariadne Labs, is going to help democratize access to important caesarean section surgical techniques and knowledge that would otherwise be siloed due to geography or time,” Hachach-Haram said.
A leader in healthcare innovation and implementation, Ariadne Labs has experience in designing and building in-country capacity and expertise to implement digital innovations which will be leveraged to inform critical discussions on sustainable digital health throughout Kenya, and beyond.
“We’re pleased to collaborate with Proximie and Jhpiego to leverage our experience in public health, frontline clinical care, and human-centered design to improve the quality of surgical care that women and their newborns receive as well as enhance the clinician experience,” said Katherine Semrau, PhD, MPH, Principal Investigator and Director of Ariadne Labs’ BetterBirth program.
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