Overview
Muhimbili National Hospital is Tanzania's premier teaching and tertiary referral hospital, serving as a critical hub for specialized healthcare in East Africa. The mental health department has integrated MHIRA to enhance screening processes and establish comprehensive electronic patient records, supporting a multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals.
Setting Type
Teaching and Tertiary Referral Hospital
Personnel
Nurses, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Occupational Therapists
Implementation Approach
The hospital has implemented MHIRA using desktop computers in dedicated assessment rooms and clinician offices. This approach ensures a professional, distraction-free environment for comprehensive mental health evaluations while supporting the diverse needs of a tertiary care facility with multidisciplinary staff.
Data Collection Mode
Assessments are initiated on desktop computers in designated assessment rooms or at the clinician's workstation. This setup provides a stable, secure environment for conducting evaluations and maintaining patient records.
Main Purpose
MHIRA serves dual purposes at MNH: screening patients for mental health conditions and generating comprehensive electronic patient files. This integrated approach streamlines the initial assessment process and establishes a digital foundation for ongoing care management.
Screening
Systematic mental health screening using validated instruments to identify patient needs and inform treatment planning
Electronic Patient Files
Generating comprehensive digital patient records that support continuity of care and multidisciplinary collaboration
Assessment Approach
The implementation includes a comprehensive array of open-source and validated instruments covering depression, anxiety, stress, personality assessment, and social support—enabling thorough mental health evaluation in a tertiary care setting. The diverse range of assessment tools supports the multidisciplinary team in conducting comprehensive evaluations appropriate for a teaching hospital serving complex patient needs.
Key Benefits
Digital Patient Records
Transitioning from paper-based to electronic patient files improves accessibility, reduces administrative burden, and enhances continuity of care across the multidisciplinary team.
Systematic Screening
Standardized screening protocols ensure consistent, comprehensive evaluation of patients, supporting accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment planning in a complex tertiary care environment.
Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Electronic records accessible to nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, and occupational therapists facilitate seamless collaboration and integrated care planning.
Impact
The implementation at MNH represents a significant step toward digital transformation in mental health services at one of East Africa's leading teaching hospitals. It demonstrates the feasibility and value of electronic assessment systems in resource-limited settings, showing how digital tools can enhance screening processes and patient record management while supporting multidisciplinary collaboration in a complex tertiary care environment.