Improving Process Efficiencies: Assessing and Improving Immunization Clinic Workflows Using an Electronic Immunization Registry

Samantha Dolan and Peter Rabinowitz of the University of Washington in the U.S., and Ian Njeru of I-TECH Kenya, will improve digital data collection and monitoring of childhood immunizations at Kenyan health facilities by optimizing workflows. Using electronic tools to track immunizations has the potential to improve the accuracy of data collection and reporting, identify children who have not been vaccinated, and free up time for health care workers. To fully realize this potential, workflow patterns need optimizing for different types of health facilities. They will use an iterative approach with so-called Lean methods to maximise value while reducing waste, and time-motion study techniques to evaluate current workflows and identify bottlenecks that reduce efficiency. These workflows will then be redesigned and tested across different sizes and types of facilities in Kenya. They will also compare the efficiency and performance of electronic registries with paper-based registries.