Garissa praised for using WhatsApp to manage health emergencies

The use of WhatsApp in the coordination and management of Emergency Medical Services in Garissa County is bearing fruit and has shown significant improvement in accessing quality medical services in the ASAL county.

In a report published in the African Journal of Emergency Medicine, the use of WhatsApp for integrating hospitals and Emergency Medical personnel has improved the effectiveness and efficiency of the local Emergency Medical Services.

Garissa has leveraged the WhatsApp platform to assist in organizing transport and inter-facility transfers.

"WhatsApp use has streamlined communication and shifted to real-time group-based conversations. Ambulances are able to be centrally dispatched based on real-time availability and demand. Using WhatsApp to notify hospitals in advance about incoming patients allows them to prepare personnel and equipment and has also allowed facility-based staff to provide medical command to EMS teams in the field," observed the lead researcher J. Austin Lee.

The county has one county referral hospital in Garissa Town and seven sub-county hospitals, as well as 56 dispensaries, 21 health centers, and 123 private clinics and nursing homes.

The use of WhatsApp in rendering Emergency Medical Services in the county was initiated in 2015 and has played a huge role in ensuring fast access to ambulance services too.

"Once transport is initiated, the ambulance crew and other facility-based healthcare staff use the WhatsApp platform to provide de-identified clinical information about the patient and stay abreast with updates and make appropriate preparations when indicated," explained Lee.

Depending on the urgency and critical services, the specialist taking care of the patient can provide real-time management suggestions.

"After handing the patient over, the ambulance team will post on the Movement Group with an update to all members, especially the Emergency and Referral Command Center (ERCC), that they have handed over the patient, who received the patient, the patient's condition, and the time of hand-off."

Globally, WhatsApp is the most popular digital platform and available for free. In addition, end-to-end encryption of WhatsApp messages provides some data security that is particularly important in healthcare communications. Furthermore, specialists and their patients can share photos and videos or even have real-time conversations either on audio or video.

On the flip side, however, overwhelming messages in particular groups can hinder one from accessing important messages. The report also highlighted the cost of network operations and the fear of possible sharing of patients' private information and media.

However, the report noted that to date, there are no known incidents of inappropriate sharing of patients' private health information, regardless of whether there is no written policy on data security in place."