Introduction
The increasing use of Information, Communication Technology (ICT) is a key factor to guarantee better solutions, access and quality of social policies driven to the poor. It is clear that the use of ICT promotes better access to quality education and, at the same time, it improves the security of the information systems which offer public services. In the health sector, ICT is use to assure good recording, surveillance systems and to reduce costs allowing a better combat of transmissible diseases, precise interventions for chronicle diseases and better health management in hospitals and primary care services.
Despite all these progresses, there is still a lot of prejudice mixed with ignorance regarding the good effects in the use of ICT to improve health to the poor. Recently I took notice of some efforts to disqualify the donation to a project which use ICT to improve access and quality in a charitable Hospital placed in a poor neighborhood in Brazil.
Just to avoid situations like that, we are sharing some examples about how ICT is changing the health environment and contributing to improve health systems in poor countries.
E-health recording is possible in the context of Bangladesh
Health service providers are getting hyperactive windows from the blessing of cybernetic connection. Newly developed computer based gadgets are best companion for doctors along with their traditional equipment like stethoscope and thermometer in many countries. Last week 120 health practitioners were successfully trained up on ICT implications in medical science in an international course titled e-Health & Learning: Health Informatics Training Courses for Practitioners (e-HL-HIC).
After the certificate distribution ceremony, the course contact, Dr Abul Kashem Mia, professor of BUET said: "A significant contribution can come from our doctors' community in developing a database system for keeping patients' records. Our doctors and hospitals are not following updated info preserving system. They are not even habituated to keeping patients' health data in their chambers and hospitals. They give prescriptions, pathology test reports, x-ray reports, etcetera to the patients to preserve in their house. Eventually, many of the patients lose the records. In the developed countries doctors are obliged to keep the report in their data bank. But we are witnessing contrary scenario in this country. In the era of info-tech patients do not need files to go from one medical department to another. By entering a patient's name all concerned doctors can see her or his reports right in their chambers or hospitals. After our two successful IT projects for the doctors' community, we are watching them gradually develop positive attitude towards keeping patients records in their responsible area. Now they have realized that data based software will catapult their services as well as save some additional expenditure”.
Health professionals in Ethiopia to get IT training
Ethiopian Minister of Health Dr. Kebede Worku said that the government of Ethiopia is preparing a Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) for the next five years in which health, gender and HIV/AIDS are given emphasis.
Speaking at a Health Care Technology Management Symposium, the State Minister indicated that manpower training, construction and establishment of well equipped health facilities are targeted areas to realize access to primary health care services universally by 2009/2010.
"Ethiopian Science and Technology Agency (ESTA) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) have developed a curriculum for the training of health technology technicians (diploma and degree level) and this would be the long-term solution for the poor planning, inappropriate procurement, and poor maintenance," he added.
Ethiopian science and Technology Agency Director General Mulugeta Amha on his part said that "the Agency, the Ministry of Health and ORBIS International, through a memorandum of understanding signed between them, have launched a project called BETTER (Biomedical, Engineers and Technical Training and Equipment Rehabilitation) project." One of the major objectives of the project is to organize clinical engineering workshop for participants drawn from the Ministry of Health, health bureaus, medial directors, heads and staff of maintenance centers and allied health professionals, he added.
India: Computerized registration of patients at CMCH
The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital has computerized registration of in-patients and out-patients in five of its wings. According to the hospital officials, the irksome wait for someone to painstakingly write out the details and issue coupons is as good as over.
The State Government's assistance for computerization will now ensure the maintaining of clear records that have no ambiguity caused by poor handwriting. Besides, patient details can also be had at the click of a button. Details such as patient name, age, address, in-patient or out-patient number, the type of disease and the nature of treatment and the duration will be fed into the system by six data entry operators appointed for this purpose.
A tertiary level referral unit hospital, the CMCH serves poor patients from Coimbatore, Erode and the Nilgiris districts. From writing out forms to nearly 5,000 out-patients a day that takes hours, the new system is expected to take only 30 seconds for each patient.
Uganda pioneers in healthcare information system
Uganda has become the first country in the world to be benefited from a healthcare information system that works for managing, measuring and monitoring the distribution of Anti retroviral drugs (ARVs). Harvey Stewart, the chief executive of Rocky Mountain Technology Group (RMTG), said the government approached them for a system which can block misuse of ARVs and improve distribution and accountability to donors’ satisfaction.
"This product, expected to be in use in Uganda by mid next year, is the most advanced and complete system in the world," Stewart said. Named ARVims Version 2.0, the system was designed by RMTG, an American technology company dealing in the development of software and services for the retail pharmacy industry. It is a product of collaboration with Uganda's
Ministry of Health, since 2003 and has been tried at Mulago, Mengo and Jinja hospitals.
Stewart said the system would enable public health officials to conveniently and accurately manage confidential information starting from when a patient registers for a program. It tracks all physician-patient conference information, monitors pharmacy inventory and produces reports for accountability and forecasting. Dr. Peter Waldron, the advisor to the RMTG president, explained that the system records periodic inventory summaries, stock usage, monthly and quarterly patient regimen and treatment trends. It also allows patients who change their places of residence during treatment to transfer between clinics because data can be transferred safely and confidentially.
"It provides other information to facilitate drug needs or usage tracking to prevent fraud as well as a number of patient demographic statistics and World Health Organization clinical stage summaries." The system was initially planned for 11 regional hospitals before it will be spread across 316 treatment facilities across the country. Ultimately, the system will improve the quality and consistency of treatment, as well as facilitate the management and effective use of medical resources. The Ministry of Health will also be in position to use clinical information to avoid 'stock outs' and other issues of procurement.
--------------------------------------------
If you have good examples and short notes about ICT in health benefiting the poor, please, notice this blog or sent a message to andrem@iadb.org.
The increasing use of Information, Communication Technology (ICT) is a key factor to guarantee better solutions, access and quality of social policies driven to the poor. It is clear that the use of ICT promotes better access to quality education and, at the same time, it improves the security of the information systems which offer public services. In the health sector, ICT is use to assure good recording, surveillance systems and to reduce costs allowing a better combat of transmissible diseases, precise interventions for chronicle diseases and better health management in hospitals and primary care services.
Despite all these progresses, there is still a lot of prejudice mixed with ignorance regarding the good effects in the use of ICT to improve health to the poor. Recently I took notice of some efforts to disqualify the donation to a project which use ICT to improve access and quality in a charitable Hospital placed in a poor neighborhood in Brazil.
Just to avoid situations like that, we are sharing some examples about how ICT is changing the health environment and contributing to improve health systems in poor countries.
E-health recording is possible in the context of Bangladesh
Health service providers are getting hyperactive windows from the blessing of cybernetic connection. Newly developed computer based gadgets are best companion for doctors along with their traditional equipment like stethoscope and thermometer in many countries. Last week 120 health practitioners were successfully trained up on ICT implications in medical science in an international course titled e-Health & Learning: Health Informatics Training Courses for Practitioners (e-HL-HIC).
After the certificate distribution ceremony, the course contact, Dr Abul Kashem Mia, professor of BUET said: "A significant contribution can come from our doctors' community in developing a database system for keeping patients' records. Our doctors and hospitals are not following updated info preserving system. They are not even habituated to keeping patients' health data in their chambers and hospitals. They give prescriptions, pathology test reports, x-ray reports, etcetera to the patients to preserve in their house. Eventually, many of the patients lose the records. In the developed countries doctors are obliged to keep the report in their data bank. But we are witnessing contrary scenario in this country. In the era of info-tech patients do not need files to go from one medical department to another. By entering a patient's name all concerned doctors can see her or his reports right in their chambers or hospitals. After our two successful IT projects for the doctors' community, we are watching them gradually develop positive attitude towards keeping patients records in their responsible area. Now they have realized that data based software will catapult their services as well as save some additional expenditure”.
Health professionals in Ethiopia to get IT training
Ethiopian Minister of Health Dr. Kebede Worku said that the government of Ethiopia is preparing a Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) for the next five years in which health, gender and HIV/AIDS are given emphasis.
Speaking at a Health Care Technology Management Symposium, the State Minister indicated that manpower training, construction and establishment of well equipped health facilities are targeted areas to realize access to primary health care services universally by 2009/2010.
"Ethiopian Science and Technology Agency (ESTA) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) have developed a curriculum for the training of health technology technicians (diploma and degree level) and this would be the long-term solution for the poor planning, inappropriate procurement, and poor maintenance," he added.
Ethiopian science and Technology Agency Director General Mulugeta Amha on his part said that "the Agency, the Ministry of Health and ORBIS International, through a memorandum of understanding signed between them, have launched a project called BETTER (Biomedical, Engineers and Technical Training and Equipment Rehabilitation) project." One of the major objectives of the project is to organize clinical engineering workshop for participants drawn from the Ministry of Health, health bureaus, medial directors, heads and staff of maintenance centers and allied health professionals, he added.
India: Computerized registration of patients at CMCH
The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital has computerized registration of in-patients and out-patients in five of its wings. According to the hospital officials, the irksome wait for someone to painstakingly write out the details and issue coupons is as good as over.
The State Government's assistance for computerization will now ensure the maintaining of clear records that have no ambiguity caused by poor handwriting. Besides, patient details can also be had at the click of a button. Details such as patient name, age, address, in-patient or out-patient number, the type of disease and the nature of treatment and the duration will be fed into the system by six data entry operators appointed for this purpose.
A tertiary level referral unit hospital, the CMCH serves poor patients from Coimbatore, Erode and the Nilgiris districts. From writing out forms to nearly 5,000 out-patients a day that takes hours, the new system is expected to take only 30 seconds for each patient.
Uganda pioneers in healthcare information system
Uganda has become the first country in the world to be benefited from a healthcare information system that works for managing, measuring and monitoring the distribution of Anti retroviral drugs (ARVs). Harvey Stewart, the chief executive of Rocky Mountain Technology Group (RMTG), said the government approached them for a system which can block misuse of ARVs and improve distribution and accountability to donors’ satisfaction.
"This product, expected to be in use in Uganda by mid next year, is the most advanced and complete system in the world," Stewart said. Named ARVims Version 2.0, the system was designed by RMTG, an American technology company dealing in the development of software and services for the retail pharmacy industry. It is a product of collaboration with Uganda's
Ministry of Health, since 2003 and has been tried at Mulago, Mengo and Jinja hospitals.
Stewart said the system would enable public health officials to conveniently and accurately manage confidential information starting from when a patient registers for a program. It tracks all physician-patient conference information, monitors pharmacy inventory and produces reports for accountability and forecasting. Dr. Peter Waldron, the advisor to the RMTG president, explained that the system records periodic inventory summaries, stock usage, monthly and quarterly patient regimen and treatment trends. It also allows patients who change their places of residence during treatment to transfer between clinics because data can be transferred safely and confidentially.
"It provides other information to facilitate drug needs or usage tracking to prevent fraud as well as a number of patient demographic statistics and World Health Organization clinical stage summaries." The system was initially planned for 11 regional hospitals before it will be spread across 316 treatment facilities across the country. Ultimately, the system will improve the quality and consistency of treatment, as well as facilitate the management and effective use of medical resources. The Ministry of Health will also be in position to use clinical information to avoid 'stock outs' and other issues of procurement.
--------------------------------------------
If you have good examples and short notes about ICT in health benefiting the poor, please, notice this blog or sent a message to andrem@iadb.org.
