SafeCare

PharmAccess

SafeCare

SafeCare is the first and only digitally-enabled stepwise quality improvement tool for healthcare, specifically tailored to low resource settings.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

NLD

Nonprofit

Every year, 5 million people die in low- and middle-income countries because of poor quality of healthcare – more deaths than from malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis combined. In fact, more people die from lack of quality (5 million), than lack of access to care (3.6 million). However, many of these deaths are preventable or treatable, if adequate quality care is provided by skilled medical practitioners. This may seem simple, but it is not. This lack of quality is the result of insufficient investments in health, which leads to insufficient basic infrastructure, insufficient working equipment, medicine stock-outs and demotivated staff. Health facilities in resource restricted settings therefore cannot deliver quality care due to insufficient resources and insufficient data about quality gaps, leading to health systems and facilities being unable to prioritize nor institutionalize quality. Yet even through very simple and low-cost solutions, major gains can be made. This is where SafeCare comes in.

SafeCare is the first and only digitally-enabled stepwise quality improvement tool, specifically tailored to low-resource settings. It starts with an assessment. A healthcare facility is rated based on a set of internationally accredited quality standards specifically tailored to low-resource settings. These standards focus on clinical and management processes needed for safe and qualitative healthcare. After the first assessment a facility is given a rating using a 0 – 100 scoring system. Based on this gap analysis, facilities are given a digitally generated quality improvement plan. As soon as a component is completed, they can check the quality improvement task off in the SafeCare digital platform, by uploading evidence that the task is completed. Through our digital platform, we can monitor progress, and users have access to additional support such as training materials, protocols, WHO regulations, posters for patients, tips and tricks. In addition, partner organizations who implement SafeCare within their network of facilities can keep in touch with their local clinics via the chat in the SafeCare platform for support and questions, as well as monitor progress on quality improvement. With this digital setup and continuous improvement methodology, around 77% of the healthcare facilities implementing SafeCare improve in quality of care.

SafeCare is geared toward improving the quality of care delivered by health providers. This means that the solution is geared toward medical professionals, however the ultimate beneficiaries are the patients who benefit from better quality care and improved health outcomes. Typically, the patients served by SafeCare facilities are low- and middle-income patients for whom it’s harder to access quality care. What makes SafeCare uniquely valuable for health providers is that it does not simply rate facilities based on a “pass or fail” score, it provides a structured path toward quality improvement and continuous support and resources in doing so through the digital platform. This enables them to implement practical, affordable and simple solutions even with limited resources. To date, around 9000 facilities serving over 5 million patient visits monthly in 27 low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia now use SafeCare and around 77% of these clinics show consistent improvements in the quality of care. SafeCare has even been recognized by the WHO as one of the top 10 innovations in primary healthcare.