Background: In regions with disparate geographies and limited resources such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, disseminating information about local STI services and efficiently operating community testing is critical. We investigated how digital health solutions could scale clinical operations and community participation.
Methods: We examined the operational efficiency impact of Beacon, a guided public health platform, to automate data collection, sample collection workflows, jurisdictional reporting, and patient communications. To evaluate the operational efficiency impact for providers, we record the number of personnel required to support a testing operation as well as the number of hours for data reporting activities. Through patient interviews, we record how self-registration, electronic result access, and colloquial health information impacted patient participation in HIV and STI testing, as well as adherence with follow-up health advisory.
Results: Individuals with access to at-home self-registration were more likely to sign up for testing than when registration was only available in person. Individuals with access to at-home eligibility assessments for testing were more likely to participate in testing than when eligibility screening was only available on-site at community events. Individuals reported positive sentiment to testing experiences Field public health personnel were able to reduce the number of hours spent on manual data entry across multiple systems through the implementation of the electronic health record system and its support for data reporting for STI testing.
Conclusion: Guided electronic health record workflows enable field personnel to more efficiently operate community testing events. Digital access to health eligibility screening, scheduling, and result reporting contribute to improved patient engagement with community testing for STIs. Future work is focused on how health education and asynchronous telemedicine can impact patient adherence.
.png)
