1PurposeProposed
To test, with one hospital, whether SMS follow-up after discharge helps ward teams identify patients who need attention after they go home, and whether the workflow fits the ward's routine.
Hospital Pilot Programme
A controlled pilot with one hospital.
PonaPath Solutions is preparing its first hospital pilot. Everything below is a proposal; the scope, wards and duration are agreed with the participating hospital before any patient is enrolled.
2Participating institutionProposed
A Kenyan hospital with a named clinical lead willing to review and approve the follow-up workflow before patients are enrolled.
3Departments and wardsProposed
One or two adult inpatient wards, chosen with the hospital.
4Patient enrolmentProposed
The ward nurse explains the follow-up at discharge, records the patient's SMS consent, phone number and preferred language, and enrols only patients who agree.
5SMS communicationProposed
A discharge message with the hospital's phone number, then check-ins on agreed days, for example days 2, 7, 14 and 30 after discharge. Patients reply with a number and can reply STOP at any time.
6Clinical responsibilitiesProposed
The hospital's nurses review replies and make every clinical decision. PonaPath provides the system and does not give clinical advice.
7EscalationProposed
Response times and escalation contacts follow the hospital's approved clinical protocols, for example the ward's on-call phone and then the nursing officer in charge.
8Staff onboarding and trainingProposed
Short training for ward nurses and managers on enrolment, the worklist, recording outcomes and escalation, with a practice session using fictional patients.
9Technical supportProposed
A named PonaPath contact during the pilot, and an agreed way to report and resolve problems.
10EvaluationProposed
- Patients enrolled, and how many stop messages
- How many patients reply to check-ins
- Replies needing attention, and time to first contact by a nurse
- Cases escalated, and their recorded outcomes
- Readmissions within 30 days, and staff feedback
11Data protectionProposed
Patient information is used only for the follow-up, seen only by authorized hospital staff and handled under the Kenya Data Protection Act, 2019. The data protection arrangements are agreed with the hospital before the pilot starts.
12Duration and scopeProposed
Agreed with the hospital before the pilot starts. Until then, everything on this page is a proposal.
Discuss a Hospital Pilot
Email us with your institution's name, your name and professional role, your phone number, your county and the wards or services you are interested in.
Please do not send patient records or any patient information.