Infants with cleft lip and palate undergoing conventional Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM) require frequent hospital visits for appliance adjustments and monitoring.
Many families travel long distances from rural and underserved areas to access specialized cleft services, resulting in significant financial, logistical, and emotional burden.
Repeated visits often lead to missed appointments, treatment interruptions, and reduced compliance, particularly during the first few months of life when regular follow-up is critical.
The traditional NAM process is highly dependent on chairside modifications by specialists, limiting access to care and increasing demands on clinical resources.
Caregivers face challenges balancing travel, accommodation expenses, loss of workdays, and infant care requirements.
A digital solution was required to reduce dependence on frequent in-person visits while maintaining clinical effectiveness and specialist supervision.
The stakeholders most affected were patients and caregivers, as well as clinicians managing long-term follow-up and treatment coordination.
The initiative aimed to improve accessibility, continuity of care, treatment compliance, caregiver convenience, and service efficiency.
Key NABH quality aspects impacted included patient-centred care, accessibility of services, continuity of care, timeliness of treatment, effective communication, and overall patient experience.
