ACTIVE PROJECTS

Since 2001, Operation Village Health (established by the Center for Connected Health) has enabled Harvard-affiliated physicians in the Partners HealthCare System to support Cambodian health workers caring for patients at a health center in the village of Rovieng. In 2003, the program expanded to include a referral hospital in the town of Banlung - the provincial capital of the Ratanakiri province. At each of these sites, point-of-care clinical data (medical history, physical exam, labs, and digital images) are gathered by Cambodian health workers caring for patients locally. Data from select cases are emailed to volunteer physicians in Boston and in Phnom Penh for review. Within hours, recommendations are returned, allowing isolated clinicians to not only learn from some of the best physicians in the world, but also to deliver improved care to these underserved regions of Cambodia. Additional resources in the village of Rovieng include a basic point-of-care laboratory (Lab-In-A-Box) and simple clinical guidelines for the most commonly encountered medical problems. These tools, backed with telemedicine support, allow isolated Cambodian clinicians to manage their patients locally and with greater confidence. Since inception, approximately 700 patient encounters have been completed through Operation Village Health.

Reviews of this program have demonstrated high levels of patient satisfaction, and a decreasing need for transfer of patients to distant facilities. As a result of this success, Operation Village Health was chosen as the 2006 winner of the health category in the Stockholm Challenge; an international forum recognizing technology innovation as a way to improve the lives of those in the developing world.