ACCESS MAPS: Assessing Critical Care and Emergency Service Systems

Abstract

There is remarkably little information available on the extent, location and capacity of healthcare delivery worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This knowledge gap leads to health systems that provide inadequate geographic access in some areas, inefficient duplication of services in others, and logistical challenges for communities, countries and whole regions affected by natural disasters or infectious disease outbreaks.

ACCESS MAPS (Assessing Critical Care and Emergency Service Systems) is an online platform that collects and shares information on health care delivery locations, capacities, and capabilities.

We will conduct a demonstration and evaluation project using ACCESS MAPS to collect information on hospital-based microbiological laboratory capacities around the world, with special emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. This effort will be coordinated along with The Antimicrobial Resistance in Intensive Care (AMRIC) Network, an international global surveillance network based in the University of Toronto. Using the ACCESS MAPS platform to collect laboratory capabilities in a globally representative sample has tremendous public health potential, particularly by providing insight into potential reservoirs, practices, and gaps that factor into the emergence and persistence of drug-resistant species.

The overall goal of ACCESS MAPS is to help identify health care infrastructure worldwide, inform health system development, facilitate disaster relief efforts and improve universal health care access. As such, the project has its sights set on much more than microbiological practices around the world. We plan to apply lessons learned from this project to further refine our data collection process and improve the platform as a whole.

Project Lead
Dr. David Wallace 
Critical Care Medicine