Tag Archives: Jamaica

GNU Health presentation at World Health Organization – WHO

25 Tuesday Mar 2014

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Dear friends

I’m very proud to announce that our GNU Health presentation at WHO Second Global Forum on Medical Devices in Geneva, Switzerland, has been published at the World Health Organization site . Thank you United Nations for inviting me, it has been a fantastic experience and opportunity !
I shared with the audience the importance of Free (Freedom) Software in the Health Care sector, stressing that Health must be a public good and it can not belong to private corporations.
GNU Health is now being installed in many countries around the World, it has over 80 translation teams, and a great community that contributes that keeps growing every day.
GNU Health presentation at World Health Organization - WHO
Special thanks to the government of Jamaica, and to its Ministry of Health, who has adopted GNU Health as their eHealth system for the whole country. This is amazing ! Just some years ago, we, health care professionals and social activists, just dreamed about one day being able to provide equality in health care. Today is becoming a reality !
This April 10th I will be in Luxembourg, at Medetel , talking about the GNU Health implementation in Jamaica.
GNU Health 2.6 is coming soon, with a lot of new functionality, such as HL7 FHIR, improved ergonomics, strong auditing, and much more. We’ll be releasing the RC version soon so you can take a look of what is coming up and be able to test it.
Thanks to the Free Software Foundation for making GNU Health a GNU official package; to Free Operating Systems such as GNU/Linux or FreeBSD; to great frameworks like Tryton; to fantastic programing languages like Python and to the most beautiful and powerful database engine PostgreSQL. They all make GNU Health possible.These are just some examples, from a much larger list, to show that GNU Health is a real community-based project.
Let me take this opportunity to invite you to the upcoming International Workshop on Emerging Economies – IWEEE “Social Medicine” , brought to you by GNU Solidario, that will take place in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria this May 29-30th.  Join us and share your experience and benefits of Free Software in the Health Sector !
IWEEE 2014 - Social Medicine
Remember that health must be a non-negotiable human right, and that people always come before profit.
Looking forward to seeing you in Las Palmas !

[1] Luis Falcon. GNU Health Interfacing and Interoperability   http://www.who.int/medical_devices/global_forum/2nd-gf_posters/en/index8.html

[2] Poster : http://www.who.int/medical_devices/global_forum/H40.pdf

About GNU Health
GNU Health is a Free Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality: 

  • Health Information System (Demographics, Epidemiology)
  • Hospital Information System
  • Electronic Medical Record

GNU Health won the Best Project of Social Benefit from the Free Software Foundation, among other international awards.


GNU Health is an official GNU Package , and is part of GNU Solidario, an NGO that delivers health with free software. GNU Solidario and the United Nations University, International Institute for Global Health have signed an agreement to implement and to train Health professionals GNU Health around the world.

GNU Health was presented at the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Communication Union (ITU) session “ICT for Improving Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health” at the World Summit on the Information Society – WSIS 2013 Forum in Geneva.

Main site : health.gnu.org

Ministerio de Salud de Jamaica adopta GNU Health

26 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by in events, GNU Health, GNU solidario, Public Health

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“If yu waa good, yu nose affi run”
Presentación de bienvenida para la misión 
de GNU Solidario por parte del Ministerio de Salud


“El éxito requiere trabajo arduo” reza este proverbio jamaiquino. Con un refulgente sol caribeño y un grupo de bienvenida aún más radiante, esta semana GNU Health desembarcó en una nueva bahía. En cooperación con el Ministerio de Salud, una misión grupal de GNU Solidario visitó Jamaica e inauguró oficialmente el proyecto de implementación de GNU Health dentro de su sistema de salud pública.

Dicha misión se enmarca dentro de un acuerdo social entre el Ministerio de Salud de Jamaica y GNU Solidario, convenio dispuesto específicamente para desplegar este software libre de salud e información hospitalaria en la isla.

Este paso marca un punto de inflexión en la historia del campo de la salud, por cuanto Jamaica es el primer país en adoptar GNU Health con proyecciones nacionales. Una tarea herculeana, esta implementación demanda una integración intersectorial de parte de todas las regiones del país. De ahí que no sólo la Secretaria Permanente del Ministerio de Salud, la Dra. Jean Dixon, brindara su aval para con el proyecto, sino que el Sr. Gary Campbell (Director, TIC; Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Energía y Minería) también hizo extensiva su bendición al momento que anunciaba un proyecto gubernamental de migración al software libre (GOJ FOSS Migration project, en inglés) y cómo se articularían ambos emprendimientos.
Programadores, administradores de sistemas, médicos, personal de enfermería y de registros de salud, así como otros funcionarios públicos se reunieron para participar de diversas reuniones, talleres y grupos focales. El propio departamento de informática y salud del Ministerio de Salud estuvo presente a través de miembros tanto a nivel nacional como regional, así como mediante representantes de registros de salud, clínico, técnico y administración de personal.
Luego de una intensa semana, se lograron definir las directrices iniciales para el proyecto, con el fin de completar la primera etapa para fines del presente año. Más aún, nuestro equipo de GNU Solidario visitó el centro de salud Slipe Pen Road para realizar mediciones y cálculos incipientes y poder extrapolarlas.

El camino hacia el despliegue nacional ha iniciado y, tanto el equipo local en el Ministerio de Salud como GNU Solidario se muestran optimsitas y decididos a completar la hoja de ruta y las expectativas trazadas. Esta iniciativa ha generado una gratificación que trasciende la jurisdicción local, en tanto no sólo la comunidad del Software Libre, sino que el mundo entero se regocija frente a este hito en la atención primaria de salud.
Taller con el equipo de informática del Ministerio de Salud
Edificio del Ministerio de Salud (Kingston)
Tal como establece el portal de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) sobre Atención Primaria de la Salud, “el objetivo supremo de la atención primaria de la salud es mejor salud para todos”. La OMS ha identificado cinco elementos claves para la consecución de este objetivo [1]:
  • reducir la exclusión y disparidades sociales en la salud
  • organizar servicios de salud en función de las necesidades y expectativas de las personas
  • intregrar la salud en todos los sectores
  • privilegiar modelos colaborativos de políticas de diálogo
  • incrementar la participación de diversos sectores
Ése es el objetivo de GNU Health: Universalidad en el cuidado de la salud. ¡eHealth para todos!


[1] The World Health Organization (WHO): Primary Health Care
 
  Sobre GNU Health

GNU Health es un sistema libre de salud e información hospitalaria que brinda las siguientes funcionalidades:

  • Sistema de información sobre la salud (Datos demográficos y epidemiológicos)
  • Sistema de información hospitalaria
  • Expediente médico electrónico
*Entre otros reconocimientos internacionales, GNU Health ganó el premio a Mejor Proyecto de Beneficio Social otorgado por la Fundación de Software Libre.

*GNU Health es un paquete oficial de GNU y forma parte de GNU Solidario, una organización sin fines de lucro que desarrolla proyectos de salud con software libre. GNU Solidario, en conjunto con la Universidad de las Naciones Unidas (Instituto Internacional para la Salud Global), firmaron un acuerdo social para implementar GNU Health y capacitar a los profesionales de la salud a nivel internacional.
*GNU Health se presentó ante la OMS y la Unión Internacional de Comunicación (ITU por sus siglas en inglés) durante la sesión “TICs para mejorar la información y la responsabilidad para la salud de las mujeres y los niños” en la Cumbre Mundial de la Sociedad de la Información (Foro WSIS) 2013 en Ginebra.

Jamaica Ministry of Health adopts GNU Health

21 Saturday Sep 2013

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“If yu waa good, yu nose affi run”
 
Welcome presentation of
 GNU Solidario Mission by the MoH

“Success requires hard work” is the meaning of this Jamaican proverb. With a bright Caribbean sun and an even brighter welcoming crew, GNU Health unshipped in a new bay this week. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health (MoH), a group mission of GNU Solidario visited Jamaica and inaugurated officially the project of deploying GNU Health within their Public Health Care system. 
The mission is in the context of the agreement signed between Jamaica Ministry of Health and GNU Solidario, to cooperate in the implementation of GNU Health, the Free Health and Hospital Information System in this country.

This step is a tipping point in health history, granted that Jamaica is the first country to embrace GNU Health nationwide. A herculean task, this implementation is demanding cross-sectoral integrations from all the regions of this country. Hence, not only the permanent secretary of the MoH, Dr. Jean Dixon, vouched for this undertaking, but Mr. Gary Campbell (Director, ICT; Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining) also extended his blessing while announcing the GOJ FOSS Migration project and how it will cooperate with the GNU Health enterprise as well.


Programmers, system administrators, physicians, nurses, health records staff, as well as other public officials gathered to participate in several meetings, workshops and focus groups. The MoH Health Informatics team itself had representatives from both the national and the regional levels, as well as Health Records, Clinical, IT and Management Personnel. 


After an intense week, the initial guidelines for the project were designed in order to complete the first stage by the end of this year. Moreover, our GNU Solidario team visited the Slipe Pen Road Comprehensive Health Centre for incipient calculations and further extrapolations.

 The path towards the national deployment has started, and both the local team at the Ministry of Health and GNU Solidario are optimistic and determined about fulfilling the roadmap and its expectations.

This initiative has generated a gratification that transcends the local jurisdiction, so that not only the Free Software community, but the whole world rejoice in this unprecedented milestone within Public Health Care.

Main IT crew that attended the workshops
Jamaican MoH building in Kingston

As stated at World Health Organization (WHO) Primary Health Care portal, “the ultimate goal of primary health care is better health for all”. WHO has identified five key elements to achieve that goal[1]:

  • reducing exclusion and social disparities in health;
  • organizing health services around people’s needs and expectations ;
  • integrating health into all sectors;
  • pursuing collaborative models of policy dialogue; and
  • increasing stakeholder participation.
That is GNU Health objective : Universality in Health Care. eHealth for all !
 
[1] The World Health Organization (WHO): Primary Health Care
 
About GNU Health

GNU Health is a Free Health and Hospital Information System that provides the following functionality: 

  • Health Information System (Demographics, Epidemiology)
  • Hospital Information System
  • Electronic Medical Record 

*GNU Health won the Best Project of Social Benefit from the Free Software Foundation, among other international awards.

*GNU Health is an official GNU Package , and is part of GNU Solidario, an NGO that delivers health with free software. GNU Solidario and the United Nations University, International Institute for Global Health have signed an agreement to implement and to train Health professionals GNU Health around the world.

*GNU Health was presented at the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Communication Union (ITU) session “ICT for Improving Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health” at the World Summit on the Information Society – WSIS 2013 Forum in Geneva.