This is a short story with a great message of overcoming, where life is the protagonist; it is a story of rebirth through the transformation of a health institution (E.S.E Hospital San Vicente del Caguán) that brought hope and dignity to a region with a long history of armed conflict.
Everything was against.
The department of Caquetá, in Colombia; has been one of the regions hardest hit by historical violence in the country, and one of the most excluded in terms of social development. Its mostly rural population, with 76% illiteracy and very low income, has always been behind social and economic growth, and facing the fear and blood brought by the conflict.
Since 1957, the San Rafael Hospital and its staff have overcome many challenges of accessibility, infrastructure, budget, among many others; that have even put the operation of the institution in hold; but thanks to the determination to get ahead, the purpose of saving lives and now, the technology; today they are a hospital with a great impact on the "Caqueteños", as is called the Caquetá population, and a benchmark for improvement and social innovation in the country.
Problems y obstacles.
E.S.E San Rafael, like many health institutions in the country; presented problems in the access to care for its patients, in this case rural patients, who had to walk, or if they were lucky; ride a donkey, for long journeys of up to 4 hours from their homes in the outskirts of the region, waking up very early in the morning to arrive first in line and have a chance to get the appointment they need so much, in case they don't achieve it; they will have to try again because there was no other option. In addition to this precarious process, there were many more that were being carried out in the traditional way, meaning reprocessing and waste of resources, such as the use of the Installed Capacity, with a lost up to 40%.
The appointment management process was carried out in an almost archaic way, a group of people sitting in front of a computer with an Excel doing all the management, if a new process resulted, a new person had to be hired and trained, which generated a great quantity of delays and reprocesses that resulted in saturating the staff with a lot of work to do, who as humans, reached a point where they could not do anymore, contributing to the detriment of health and dissatisfaction of patients.
A decision of hope.
These reasons and the negative impact they had on the institution's productivity, led Mario Andrés Posada Muñóz, Manager of the E.S.E Hospital San Rafael and his team, to make the decision of automating as many processes as possible, understanding that only through technology it was possible to solve the problems that were lived day by day in the Caguán.
Mario Andrés Posada Muñóz, Manager of the E.S.E Hospital San Rafael, talks about the positive impact that COCO brought to its institution.
Spectacular results.
After 6 months of implementing a fully integrated and state o the art solution for Hospital San Rafael, including self-management for patients; who can now manage their appointments from their cell phone at home, and schedule one by writing to a WhatsApp Chatbot, and be attended via Telemedicine, allowing virtual care and avoiding unnecessary travel.
From November 2021 to May 2022
The number of appointments increase 6 times
23,982 total of processed appointments
56% of attendance
Self-management of 35%
With this technological innovation, patients like Mrs. Nidia, a 67-year-old woman who suffers from hypertension and has lived in Caguán all her life, specifically in the village of "El Venado", which if 3 hours away from the nearest health center; today she can access care from her cell phone and schedule her controls by sending a message, without the fear of losing them due to forgetfulness or management errors, which has improved her quality of life.
Believe in Digital Transformation
Today E.S.E Hospital San Rafael de San Vicente del Caguán, is at the forefront of digital health, operating efficiently through technology, enhancing its human capacity and providing a formidable experience to its staff and patients. This transformation has brought renewal to Caguán, development and dignity to its population; this transformation has told the people of Caguán, and so be it for the rest of Colombia: United we build a better country for everyone.
Within the framework of the Rendering of Accounts, the San Rafael Hospital announced its technological transformation that it has been carrying out in recent months and the high impact it has had in such a short time.
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