The monitoring and evaluation assistants (MEAs) visit BHU, BHU24/7, BHU+, RHC, THQ and DHQ hospitals to gather information related to these health facilities, such as delivery of medical services, attendance of paramedical staff and physicians. Filling out data on paper forms was a tedious process and compilation of this information was a time-consuming process. The PITB and the Health Department devised a system through which the information could be collected on a mobile application which would then be integrated with a central database. The Monitoring and Evaluation Assistants (MEAs) health programme was launched in December 2014. A team of 180 MEAs was hired to conduct visits to health facilities under primary health. These newly inducted MEAs were retired army officers familiar with areas of their visits. Each MEA was given a mobile device with the application installed in it. The MEA gathered information about the availability of medicines, supplies, equipment, attendance of staff etc.
To improve the performance and efficiency of assistants, they were sent to each facility in pairs to check key performance indicators. The MEAs also take images and their location is captured by a built-in GPS system in the device. The system allows the user to see a list of all hospitals visited and their data captured. Monthly statistics can also be viewed on a dashboard. The data gathered by MEAs is analysed and presented in a monthly meeting chaired by the Primary and Secondary Health secretary. The data is presented in the form of ‘Data Packs’, which comprise consolidated reporting for each indicator, comparisons within districts, and other infographics. The departmental forecasts, plans and important decisions are based on this information. Overall performance at health facilities has tremendously improved as a result of this intervention. For example, availability of medicines at hospital pharmacies has improved. This project has also led to the development of another programme called Maintenance and Cleanliness System (MACS) which monitors cleanliness at hospitals. So far, data from 5,041 inspections have been uploaded on the MSH portal.
Programme Performance Indicators
Performance improvement through Monitoring and Evaluation Assistants