Redesigning Sample Transportation in Malawi Through Improved Data Sharing and Daily Route Optimization

The next Analytics for a Better World webinar will take place on November 25, 2020. For questions about the event contact Prof. Dick den Hertog.

Speaker: Emma Gibson (MIT, Cambridge, USA)

Centralized diagnostic networks play a critical role in the delivery of essential healthcare services in resource-limited settings. These large-scale diagnostic networks depend on sample transportation (ST) systems to move medical samples (e.g. blood, sputum) between healthcare facilities and laboratories. Operational inefficiencies in these transportation systems contribute to unnecessary delays in the communication of diagnostic results to patients, leading to worse health outcomes. Our work is focussed on improving the efficiency of a national transportation system operated by Riders For Health in Malawi. We propose a two-part system that uses a low-cost, feature phone data sharing platform to monitor sample volumes at healthcare facilities, and an optimized sample transportation model to generate efficient routes for ST couriers on a daily basis. This system has been operating continuously in three districts in Malawi since August 2019. Since implementation, the proportion of unnecessary courier trips has been reduced by 55% and average ST delays have been shortened by an estimated 25%.