The Aga Khan University’s Hayat app has recently been honored with a silver medal at the International Digital Health Awards 2023, recognizing its outstanding contribution to healthcare innovation. Under the Mobile Digital Health Resources category, Hayat’s pioneering use of technology to enhance healthcare access set it apart from competitors. This achievement highlights the app’s positive impact on improving the healthcare system, particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Innovating Healthcare Provision with Hayat App
Hayat has proven instrumental in strengthening the public health system in Gilgit-Baltistan by reducing paperwork and manual data entry. This innovative app has significantly improved the capacity of health workers, enhancing accountability, monitoring, and governance mechanisms. Sana Ullah, the Secretary of the Department of Health in Gilgit-Baltistan, acknowledges Hayat’s role in transforming the healthcare landscape.
Addressing Challenges in Healthcare Delivery
In Pakistan, programs focusing on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (RMNCH) services operate independently, leading to challenges in monitoring health indicators. The absence of a comprehensive, digital integrated system for health data necessitates paper-based reporting, resulting in poor interoperability, communication, coordination, and integration of data between programs. Hayat has successfully bridged this gap by connecting the Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme and the Expanded Programme in Immunization (EPI). Through Hayat, LHWs can instantly report child births, ensuring timely vaccination by enabling vaccinators to receive real-time information.
The Power of Interoperability and Collaboration
Hayat’s interoperable system allows seamless sharing of information, eliminating data duplication and reducing the burden of manually exchanging patient details. This innovative approach amplifies impact through cross-entity collaboration, revolutionizing healthcare provision in Pakistan. Saleem Sayani, the Project Lead at Aga Khan University, emphasizes the significant contribution of Hayat in improving the collaboration between healthcare programs.
Impressive Results and Recognition
Since its launch in 2019, Hayat has registered over 441,000 beneficiaries and conducted 192,000 educational awareness sessions. With more than 1,200 healthcare workers currently utilizing the app, Hayat has made healthcare accessible in remote and rural regions of Pakistan. The app’s novelty and innovativeness were recognized last year at the international Commonwealth Digital Health Awards (CWDHA).
International Digital Health Awards 2023
The International Digital Health Awards received over 800 entries, and Hayat emerged as the deserving winner after careful evaluation by a panel of renowned experts in digital health media. Notable winners from the competition include Merck, Baylor College of Medicine, and WebMD. This year’s awards marked the 25th anniversary of the competition, celebrating a quarter-century of honoring exceptional contributions to digital healthcare.