International delegates and representatives from partnering organisations and various entities, excitedly made their way to Kigali – Rwanda, for the much anticipated Rwanda Health Information Exchange (HIE) workshop. The four-day workshop, 24th – 27th September 2012, hosted by the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MoH) and Jembi Health Systems focused on the outstanding RHEA work done-to-date, getting a preview of the Live Demo walk-through, and lastly to workshop and map the road ahead – towards achieving the ultimate “dream” – Better Health care for Rwanda through technology!
RHEA HIE workshop in a “nutshell” – daily highlights and pics!!!
Day 1
“Live and Connected”
Day 1 – An atmosphere of anticipation and expectation filtered through the main conference meeting room at Hotel Chez Lando, as delegates started to arrive and register at the main table for the four-day workshop. One could sense an eerie mix-feeling of excitement as the various delegates greeted and interacted with each other, before being seated awaiting the start of the four day-RHEA HIE workshop.
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Dr Richard Gakuba welcomes delegates. |
The Rwanda Health Enterprise Architecture project has grown in strength and finally – “moved from the conference rooms to health centers in rural Rwanda, touching the lives and promising better health care” – stated Dr Richard Gakuba (MoH – Director and e-Health coordinator) as he welcomed all delegates and officially declared the opening of the four-day workshop.
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Live Demo Walk Through showcased on Day 1
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“All smiles – we are finally Live and Connected” Dr Chris Seebregts (Jembi) & Dr Richard Gakuba (MoH) |
Day 2
“Lets’ get real”
Day 2 – A day which had been scheduled and marked for the RHEA working team to unpack some of the challenges faced thus far, and further deliberate on how to solidify the HIE architecture and the various components which make “it tick”. Delegates had the opportunity to “get real” and workshop the various challenges in a small group setting.
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M&E plan focus group |
Focus groups were formed around the topics:
- Security & having a restorative backup plan
- Monitoring and Evaluation plan
- Transactions in the HIE
- Ensuring most up-to-date clinical work flow for maternal health care.
An additional group focusing on the National Identification process and how this could be integrated into the RHEA HIE, was led Dr Richard Gakuba and Mr Nyamurinda Pascal – Director General of Rwanda National Identification agency (NID).
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Dr Richard Gakuba and Mr Nyamurinda Pascal leads “NID” focus group discussion |
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Ryan Crichton (Jembi Senior Developer) Facilitates “transactions in the HIE” focus group |
Day 3
“Mapping the road ahead”
Day 3 – Mapping the road ahead for the completion and successful implementation of the HIE was set out according to Three tracks;
- Track 1 – Completing implementation of the RHEA HIE in the Rwamagana district
- Track 2 – Develop and implement new use cases
- Track 3 – Continue building OpenHIE communities
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Track 1 and 2 breakout focus group |
The three groups continued discussions through most of the morning and had to reconvene later during the day, as Dr Richard Gakuba notified all that the Minister of ICT, Mr Jean-Philbert Nsengima, is on his way to Hotel Chez Lando for a surprise visit and sit-in to the RHEA HIE workshop. The Minister was grateful for the opportunity to address the delegates, and requested to have a sneak preview of the Live Demo and walk through.
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Track 3 breakout group |
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Mr Jean-Philbert Nsengima – Minister of ICT |
The Minister thanked and praised all contributors and the RHEA working team for their hard work and efforts. He vowed that the Ministry of ICT will support the RHEA HIE initiative going forward and believed that technology has the power to connect and improve health care in Rwanda.
Day 4
“Delegation pics”
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Michael Gehron – HIS Coordinator – PEPFAR |
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Group photo taken on final day! |
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Representatives from Tanzania MoH |
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Lorrine Banister (Regenstrief), Jonnea Smith (Jembi) Ophelia McMuarray (Cardno), Wendy Schultz (InSTEDD) “Improving Global Health by developing partnerships” |
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Dr Dennis Israelski (InSTEDD) and Dr Chris Seebregts (Jembi) takes time out to visit kLABS in Kigali http://klab.rw/ |
Source:: RHIE