Wolters Kluwer helps Mercy Ships provide healing and state-of-the-art care for the world’s poor

Mercy Ships clinicians aboard their floating hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, care for the world's most vulnerable populations. The ship is currently on a nearly year-long mission in the west African country of Guinea, providing free lifesaving surgeries in a region where medical care is very limited. To support Mercy Ships, Wolters Kluwer, Health has donated Lexicomp® app subscriptions to ensure clinicians throughout the ship have access to the most current and comprehensive drug information as part of the high quality care they provide.

Docked in Conakry, Guinea, the Africa Mercy is the world's largest civilian hospital ship. The ship provides modern healthcare facilities and advanced surgical care to those in desperate need. With only two and one-half physicians per 10,000 people in Africa, many have little or no access to healthcare. The Africa Mercy brings medical teams comprised of volunteers from around the world and sterile operating rooms directly to people who would otherwise go without care.

“We are excited to start the field service in Guinea with a new tool. The hospital opened this year with both a fully electronic hospital pharmaceutical formulary and also with the Lexicomp mobile app,” explained Becky Bynum, Healthcare Services Director on the Africa Mercy.  “Medical staff will now not only know what medications we stock on board, but they can also reference how to administer the medications and the potential side effects.”

The remarkable floating hospital includes five operating theatres, recovery, intensive care, and low dependency wards - totaling 80 patient beds. Volunteers anticipate providing over 2,000 free surgeries to patients in Guinea during the next 10 months. The team provides life-giving surgeries to treat cleft-lip and palate, cataracts, windswept and bow-legged deformities, twisted knees, tumors and many other procedures across nine specialties. (Read patients’ stories of hope.)

To support the advanced care provided, clinicians can quickly find answers to drug-related questions using Lexicomp mobile apps, accessible throughout the ship on the medical teams’ iPads. Lexicomp delivers clear, concise, point-of-care drug information such as dosing, administration, warnings and precautions, as well as clinical content, such as practice guidelines, IV compatibility, a pharmacogenomics database, drug shortage information and other tools. Content is also stored directly on the ships’ iPads, ensuring clinicians can quickly answer questions even without an internet connection.

“In regions where clean water, electricity, medical facilities and skilled personnel are limited, or nonexistent, the Mercy Ships organization is a beacon of hope and healing,” said Denise Basow, CEO of Clinical Effectiveness, Wolters Kluwer, Health. “As a mission-driven organization, it's an honor for us to support their efforts to aid the world's most vulnerable populations with medical care that is transforming lives for the better.”

To learn more about Mercy Ships, please visit: www.mercyships.org