Real-time patient tracking in outpatient care using a Bluetooth Low Energy Identification technology in a low-resource setting: a pilot study in Burundi

Background Globally, around one third of people in low- and middle-income countries report negative experiences with their healthcare system. One of the most frequently cited reasons is the perceived excessive length of time spent waiting for treatment. Despite increasing digitalization, delays in outpatient care journeys remain largely invisible to healthcare managers because existing hospital information systems can not automatically and continuously track patient movements. This limits identification of bottlenecks and implementation of effective interventions to improve outpatient service delivery. This study aimed to evaluate a patient tracking solution based on “Bluetooth Low Energy Identification” technology designed to automatically monitor outpatient care journeys. Method This study was carried out in MURAMVYA district hospital and CPLR Hospital in Burundi, using the Design Science Research Model. The methodology comprised five steps: (1) development and integration of the patient tracking module into the existing hospital information system, (2) implementation of patient tracking, (3) evaluation of the module, (4) implementation of a pilot study, and (5) communication about the pilot experience. Using the technology, 688 outpatient journeys patients were reconstructed and studied. Data analysis was descriptive using R software and departments interaction analysis was carried out using a social network analysis approach with Gephi. Results The results showed good technical performance of the module with 95.5 per cent of care journeys fully recorded at MURAMVYA district hospital, and 93.9 per cent at CPLR Hospital. Laboratory, imaging and emergency departments had the highest median times, with 95.6, 90.5 and 72.2 min respectively. The slowest transfers between departments involved laboratory and imaging: ‘Imaging to Emergency’ (7.3 min), ‘Laboratory to Family planning’ (6.9 min) and ‘Imaging to Laboratory’ (5.2 min). “Reception to Billing to Consultation” was the most frequent journey recorded for 22,6% of the patients. Reception, billing and consultation departments were also the main bottlenecks in the outpatient care journey. Conclusion Bluetooth Low Energy Identification (BLEID) is a reliable technology for patient tracking and can be successfully implemented to monitor care journeys, identify patient journey’s bottlenecks aiming to improve outpatient care delivery. Clinical trial number Not applicable.