JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The flexible policies proposed on family planning in recent years exemplify an increasing need for maternal and child health (MCH) in China, which imperatively requires the supports of information systems for management. However, experiences of provincial MCH information systems are lacking, especially in relatively underdeveloped areas. The Cloud-Based Maternal and Child Information System (CBMCIS) applied in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (hereinafter referred to as Inner Mongolia) since 2020, which achieved regional MCH data exchanging and enhanced patient information management tremendously, could be an available reference to promote MCH services in other regions.

Objective:

This article aims to demonstrate the application contents and effective popularization of CBMCIS in improving the regional MCH through experiences from Inner Mongolia.

Methods:

The construction of CBMCIS in Inner Mongolia was described to provide a feasible solution for medical institutions to better collect, integrate, retrieve and analyze MCH data within the region. Based on the role analysis and information reporting process in the system, services were subdivided into ten modules to maintain four functions – basic healthcare services, special case management, health supports and administration & supervision. Intelligent health management and clinical decision supports were designed to provide more intelligent methods to users. The data from CBMCIS between January 1, 2020 and October 31, 2022 in Inner Mongolia were collected. The user size of main services and the key characteristics of pregnant women and children were analyzed to demonstrate the application effects of CBMCIS.

Results:

The system recorded 221,772 registered pregnant women with 44.75% early pregnancy registry rate and 147,264 newborns in 12 cities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region between January 1, 2020 and October 31, 2022. The number of pregnancies managed in the system increased by 157.9% in 2021 and 57.74% in 2022 (until October). It successfully accomplished entire systematic data management based on paper records. High-risk pregnant women with specific factors were specially managed, including 45.45% of general risks, 21.63% of relatively-high risks, 0.09% of high risks and 2.30% of infectious diseases. Scarred uterus, BMI≥28, aggressive placenta praevia and viral hepatitis are the top factors of yellow, orange, red and purple pregnancy risks respectively.

Conclusions:

With effective popularization and application in all of the 12 cities, CBMCIS has achieved the interconnection of regional MCH information and entire systematic management at province level, promoting the quality, efficiency and equity of MCH services in Inner Mongolia. The system showed capability to provide direct supervision tools for administration departments, valid clinical decision supports for medical workers and easy access to regional medical resources for residents. Due to the homogeneity of MCH service, the experience of Inner Mongolia was referenceable to other areas across the world. Thus, the migration of CBMCIS was feasible with great potential.