Possible Future Directions

Features and Possible Future Direction of Cradle Platform

The Cradle platform (sometimes called iCradle) includes a back-end, front-end, Android mobile app, and an Android SMS relay server. Here are some broad features of the platform, plus future directions we may take the product in.

Current Highlights

• Patient management and e-health records including pregnancy date tracking, and recording patient vitals.
  • Record medical history and drug history
  • Support for "traffic lights" showing quick appraisal of patient health
• Patient referrals between health facilities
• Creating and filling out user-defined forms for patients via front-end and mobile
• Mobile application (works offline with sync, or online)
  • Supports operation over HTTPS
  • Supports operation over encrypted SMS tunnelling protocol
• Built-in training material
• Admin support for adding/removing users, and health centres.
• Statistics

Possible Future Directions

This lists some topics which have been discussed and are areas of possible future direction for the tool.

• Workflow modules to guide user through standard processes.
  • Workflows may include aspects such as:
    • Admin control over which modules are enabled; easy ability to add or customize a workflow module.
    • Trigger conditions (such as new patient, or specific form submitted) to enable different modules or steps inside a module.
    • Ability to display advice to the user at each step.
    • Ability to have user complete a custom form at each step to move to next step.
    • Ability to track a patient's process through the workflow, such as an overview of what stage of the process a patient is on and generating reminders to healthcare staff to follow-up with a patient.
    • Ability for user to override workflow to control what happens and how.
  • Example workflows:
    • Vaccination history: showing recommended course of vaccinations and tracking which vaccines a patient has received and when.
    • Broken bone: guiding user through recommended steps to diagnose and treat a broken bone such as performing an X-Ray, recording result of an X-Ray, treating the injury, scheduling follow-up care.
    • Prenatal care: Schedule visits, track patient vitals, adjust recommended care schedule during pregnancy based on readings or test results; built in logic to suggest decision paths along with explanation for suggestions given.
    • Postnatal care: Suggested schedule visits, recording development and baby & mother health. Reminders to user about upcoming visits. Decision pathways during care to help health care workers deliver best standard of care to patient.
• Patient-facing interface: allow patient to directly log into the system to view their information and participate in their care such as record new vitals information, record new information. Include patient reminders and updates.
• Increased security and privacy: integrating 3rd party OAuth logins, GDPR compliance, and zero-trust architecture.