Pape Gaye, IntraHealth’s President and CEO, recently participated in the Rockefeller Institute’s Bellagio Conference, Making the eHealth Connection. The conference brought thought leaders together to explore the use of public health informatics and national health information systems to improve health care in developing countries.  Attendees included representatives from International NGOs, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, countries throughout the world, and the symposium organizer, the University of Washington’s Center for Public Health Informatics.

Conference participants agreed that a weak infrastructure continues to challenge health care advancement in poorer areas, but the use of extant technologies such as cell phones and targeted development of internet-based solutions hold considerable promise in improving people’s access to health care.

IntraHealth’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS) development raised considerable interest. Developed for the USAID-funded Capacity Project, the HRIS strengthening process includes  a suite of low-cost Open Source software solutions designed to be adaptable to countries’ varying HRIS needs. Other emerging workshop themes included using technology in emergency areas and for decision support, as well as using it to gather and disseminate evidence in policy development and to support front-line providers.

Participants at the workshop identified five key areas for advancing public health through informatics:

• Strengthening the linkages between technologically strong schools and health institutions
• Bringing the stakeholders and decision makers on board to embrace the technology
• Developing centers of excellence through twinning strategies, with involvement of US-based institutions as well between those in the developing world
• Developing new cadres in public health-related technology
• Improving public health competencies by developing the health workforce.