Table 3

Fixed and Monthly Costs of implementing e-Chasqui


Calculation
Fixed Cost
Monthly Cost

Infrastructure Building



Computers, web access points and installation
8 × $458 (average cost)
$3,666.00

Printers
4 × $150
$600.00

Server

$2,500.00

Internet for health centres and labs
12 HCs & 2 labs × $41 monthly

$574.00
Internet for headquarters with server
1 HQ × $400 monthly

$400.00

Total

$6,766.00
$974.00

System Design & Development



Peruvian Clinician
80 hours × $21/hour
$1,680.00

System Manager
500 hours × $22/hour
$11,000.00

Faculty Consulting
40 hours × $59/hour
$2,360.00

Programmer
100 hours × $40/hour
$4,000.00


Total

$19,040.00


System Implementation



System Manager
620 hours × $22/hour
$13,640.00

Faculty Consulting
80 hours × $59/hour
$4,720.00

Programmer
450 hours × $40/hour
$18,000.00


Total

$36,360.00


Data Entry & Management



System Manager
1/4 time

$937.50
Peruvian Data Administrator
2/3 time

$253.33
Peruvian Data Entry (one per lab)
3 × 2/3 time

$580.00
Transportation for Data Administrator
1.5 monthly visits to every site

$150.00

Total


$1,920.83

System Advocacy



Peruvian Clinician
100 hours × $21/hour
$2,100.00

Faculty Consulting
50 hours × $59/hour
$2,950.00

System Manager
200 hours × $22/hour
$4,400.00


Total

$9,450.00


Grand Total

$71,616.00
$2,894.83

We have divided the costs into five categories: infrastructure building, system design and development, system implementation, data entry and management, and system advocacy. For infrastructure, the objective is to have every health institution with a computer, printer and intermittent, if not constant, internet connection. System advocacy has consisted of meetings and discussions, usually with national or regional administrators, to discuss the system's potential benefits, provide updates on its status, and train users on the system's abilities since this was the first time a web-based clinical system had been implemented. The costs incurred by a new program implementing e-Chasqui should be reduced as they will not include system development. All costs are in 2007 U.S. Dollars Unless explicitly stated all staff are US based

Blaya et al. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2007 7:33   doi:10.1186/1472-6947-7-33