Electronic recording and reporting for tuberculosis care and control

Overview

Adopting electronic recording and reporting is not simply about choosing a piece of software: it is also about changing how people work. This is not a simple undertaking. This document introduces the key questions to be considered and illustrates what the questions, options and recommendations mean in practice by drawing on examples of recent experience from a variety of countries. It is an essential resource for all those planning to introduce electronic recording and reporting systems for TB care and control, or to enhance existing systems.

Recording and reporting of data is a fundamental component of care of patients with tuberculosis (TB) and control of the disease. Data recording and reporting is necessary to monitor trends in the TB epidemic at global, national and subnational levels; to monitor progress in the treatment of individual patients and groups (cohorts) of patients and ensure continuity of care when patients are referred between healthcare facilities; and to plan, raise funds for, implement and evaluate programmatic efforts to control TB, including forecasting the numbers of cases and the associated requirements for staffing, medicines and laboratory supplies; and analysing treatment outcomes. When high-quality data are available, successes can be documented and corrective actions taken to address problems that are identified.