Over the past decade, the term ”implementer” has been used frequently, especially in communities of practice where members can contribute to the mission or a technical solution. “Implementer” is a term that is widely used outside of OpenHIE, and is specifically used in the health information exchange and health informatics world globally.
Who is an OpenHIE Implementer?
“Implementer” can describe a variety of roles. This could mean a person is a subject matter expert, engineer, IHE standards specialist, operational support technician, etc. These are groups often tasked with bringing into reality the envisaged interventions. This group includes those who work with, for, or in collaboration, of the MoH (or are members of the MoH itself) within a particular context. They carry the responsibility to operationalize the vision as well as, often, create policies and governance structures, design the architecture and plan for successful implementation of the end goal.
Who is a Global Good Implementer?
OpenHIE is recognized as a global good, as it provides solutions that benefit numerous countries and individuals who are in need of an improved health information system. But what exactly is a global good? Digital Square defines a global good as “digital health tools that are adaptable to different country contexts.” They also describe one type of global good being content, which OpenHIE most closely identifies with as “A resource, toolkit, or data standard that is available under an open license and that is used to improve health data management processes.”
OpenHIE implementers can also be defined as global good implementers. Those who are contributors within other communities of practice (CoP) and technical solutions are also global good implementers.
How Can Implementers Come Together To Share and Learn?
The OpenHIE community hosts and also encourages implementers to join the OpenHIE Implementers Network which is a network for country implementers, domain experts, and developers who want to adopt and implement OpenHIE standards. This network is dedicated to bringing together implementers and countries that work towards bringing questions, problems, and ideas to solve some of the most challenging problems in digital health.
If you are interested in joining the OpenHIE Implementers Network, please join a futrue call or the community forum to learn information.