About the Event
The OpenHIE Community meeting at Mount Meru Hotel and Conference Centre is designed to support developers, implementers, and Government officials in fostering the advancement of OpenHIE and the support of country owned and driven, large-scale health information sharing architectures. It will serve to showcase the strategy, approach and components that pragmatically empower sustainable and standards-based sharing of health information to improve health outcomes. The meeting will also highlight existing OpenHIE implementations and provide a platform for community learning and discussion about OpenHIE in action.
The meeting will included 3 days of sessions (July 31 - August 2) and 2 days for a Connect-a-thon (August 3-4).
Objectives
Connect implementers with one another and with the wider network
Share and contribute to current OpenHIE global goods, multi-country implementation experiences, and foster wider collaboration both within Tanzania, and globally
Bring implementers and developers together to harmonize tool development with implementation needs
Provide policy makers with an opportunity to better understand OpenHIE and its role in promoting interoperability and systems thinking
Who should attend
OpenHIE implementers from government, NGOs
Government Officials including ICT and eHealth Directors responsible for health information systems
Digital Health Policy Makers
Vertical health program implementers interested in interoperability
Health Information System software developers
Researchers
Why you should attend
This event provides a unique opportunity for implementers to collaborate and improve their knowledge of OpenHIE, share user stories, and to propose new priorities. Too, government leaders will gather and learn from each other about approaches to designing interoperable solutions as well as governance frameworks that have been applied for health system information exchange.
Conference Schedule
The OpenHIE Community Meeting agenda is structured to allow time for community members to connect, engage and learn about topics that are important to them. Sessions during the three days will be relevant for implementers looking to dive into the technical aspects of OpenHIE implementation as well as leaders who want to learn more about governance aspects of interoperability and health information exchange. In additional to pre-arranged sessions, the agenda will have several open “unconference” sessions where community members will propose presentations on topics relevant to their OpenHIE implementations. If you have ideas to propose for agenda sessions, please contact Amanda BenDor (abendor@path.org) or Carl Fourie (carl@jembi.org).
See below the outline of the agenda for the OpenHIE Community Meeting. The agenda will be updated in the weeks before the conference.
Day 1 - “Enabling System Interoperability”
Time | Location | Session Description | Presenter(s) | Slides |
---|---|---|---|---|
8:00 - 8:30 AM | Marquee Conference Room | Registration | ||
8:30 - 9:00 AM | Marquee Conference Room | Formal Opening of the Meeting and Welcome Remarks | Dr Mpoki Ulisubisya, PS Tanzania MOHCDGEC Steve Davis, CEO PATH | |
9:00 - 9:45 AM | Marquee Conference Room | OpenHIE Conversation: A Brief History of OpenHIE and Goals of the Meeting for the OpenHIE Community | Paul Biondich, Regenstrief Carl Fourie, Jembi Health Systems Dykki Settle, PATH Shaun Grannis, Regenstrief Jennifer Shivers, Regenstrief | |
9:45 - 10:45 AM | Marquee Conference Room | Unveiling the “Unconferencing” Approach: How to get the most out of the OpenHIE Community Meeting | Amanda BenDor, PATH Carl Fourie, Jembi Health Systems | |
10:45 - 11:30 AM | Marquee Conference Room | Networking Coffee Break and "Unconference" Voting | ||
11:30 AM- 12:15 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Sign up for Site Visits | Oswald Luoga, PATH Emily Nicholson, IntraHealth International Ally Shaban, IntraHealth International | |
12:15 - 1:00 PM | Marquee Conference Room | To Be Announced | ||
1:00 - 2:15 PM | Lunch and Group Photo | |||
2:15 - 3:15 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Leadership and Governance: Use of OpenHIE for BID Initiative in Tanzania | Hassan Mtenga, PATH | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | Facilitating Data Exchange: Developing a national interoperability framework | Thomas Fogwill, South African CSIR | ||
3:15 - 3:45 | Coffee Break and Networking | |||
3:45 - 4:30 | Marquee Conference Room | Implementers’ Experiences: DATIM Deep Dive | Jennifer Shivers, Regenstrief | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
4:30 - 4:45 | Transition Break | |||
4:45 - 5:30 | Marquee Conference Room | Wrap up and reflections from the day | Amanda BenDor, PATH | |
5:30 - 6:30 | Software Showcases / Demo |
Day 2 - “Country-Driven Success”
Time | Location | Session Description | Presenter(s) | Slides |
---|---|---|---|---|
8:00 - 8:30 AM | Marquee Conference Room | Opening and Recap from Day 1 | Henry Mwanyika, PATH | |
8:30 - 9:30 AM | Marquee Conference Room | Implementers’ Experiences: Experience in implementing HIE at the National Level - Tanzania Story | To Be Announced | |
Tembo Meeting Room | Leadership and Governance: Cross Border HIE | Dr. Ahmed Bashir, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) | ||
Faru Meeting Room | Leadership and Governance: Building Interoperable Solutions Fishbowl discussion | Thomas Fogwill, CSIR Carl Fourie, Jembi Health Systems Pierre Dane, Jembi Health Systems | ||
9:30 - 9:45 AM | Transition Break | |||
9:45 - 10:45 | Marquee Conference Room | Implementers’ Experiences - Highlights from Ministry of Health in Ethiopia | Dawit Birhan from Ministry of Health, Health Information Technology Directorate (HITD), Ethiopia | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
10: 45 - 11:15 AM | Coffee Break and Networking | |||
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Implementers’ Experiences: Where there is no EMR - South African Experience | Andrew Boulle - University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa | |
Tembo Meeting Room | Implementers' Experiences: Introducing the new openHIE Health Financing towards UHC community | Alicia Spengler, GIZ Carl Leitner, PATH | ||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
12:15 - 12:30 PM | Transition Break | |||
12:30 - 1:15 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Implementers’ Experiences: Liberia's ongoing in-country initiatives to adopt the OpenHIE architectural framework for building the country’s HIS | Mike Mulbah, MOH LIberia Ally Shabon, IntraHealth Emily Nicholson, IntraHealth | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
1:15 - 2:15 PM | Lunch and Networking | |||
2:15 - 3:15 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Implementers’ Experiences: Uganda Interoperability Model based on OpenHIE | Carol Kyozira, Uganda Ministry of Health HMIS Division | |
Tembo Meeting Room | Implementers’ Experiences: Experiences Implementing the Health Facility Registry | Diao Diallo, JSI Bah Oury - RTI Gretchen Moran - eHealth Africa Richard Stanley - IntraHealth | ||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
3:15 - 3:45 PM | Coffee Break and Networking | |||
3:45 - 4:45 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Implementers’ Experiences: Country Sharing Roundtable - facilitated by Dykki Settle with audience Q&A | Dykki Settle (PATH) and MOH Leaders | |
4:45 - 5:30 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Wrap up and reflections from the day | Carl Fourie, Jembi Health Systems | |
Evening | Evening Event |
Day 3 - “Innovations breaking new ground in information exchange”
Time | Location | Session Description | Presenter(s) | Slides |
---|---|---|---|---|
7:30 AM - 1:00 PM | Site visits (sign up on Day 1) | |||
8:00 - 8:30 AM | Marquee Conference Room | Opening and Recap from Day 2 | Wayan Vota, IntraHealth | |
8:30 - 9:15 AM | Marquee Conference Room | The African Health Information Exchange (Data Use Partnership) project in South Africa | Andrew Boulle (UCT), Rosemary Foster, Chris Seebregts | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
9:15 - 9:30 AM | Transition Break | |||
9:30 - 10:30 AM | Marquee Conference Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | ||
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
10:30 - 11:00 AM | Coffee Break - Networking | |||
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Leadership and Governance: OpenHIE Communities | To Be Announced | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
12:00 - 12:15 PM | Transition Break | |||
12:15 - 1:15 PM | Marquee Conference Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | ||
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
1:15 - 2:15 PM | Lunch and Networking | |||
2:15 - 3:00 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Interoperability and Standardss: Accredited reference implementation softwares and Standards Compliance and Procedures | Shaun Grannis, Regenstrief | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
3:00 - 3:30 PM | Coffee Break and Networking | |||
3:30 - 4:15 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Accredited reference implementation software and Standards Compliance and Procedures | To Be Announced | |
Tembo Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
Faru Meeting Room | "Unconference" Open Session - Topic will be determined by the community | |||
4:15 - 4:30 PM | Transition Break | |||
4:30 - 5:00 PM | Marquee Conference Room | Closing the Community Meeting | Paul Biondich, Regenstrief |
What is the “Unconferencing” Approach?
The OpenHIE Community meeting agenda will have some preset sessions, much like you see at other conferences. But the agenda also has some “Unconference” sessions in which participants determine the agenda. At the OpenHIE Community Meeting, we want to be sure Community Members get what they need from the conference, so the flexible agenda will enable time and space for important discussions to occur. This innovative approach of “Unconferencing” has been applied at conferences in the technology sector (i.e. Google) and has been very well received as an approach to customize a conference to meet the peer-to-peer learning goals of participants.
One the first day of the OpenHIE meeting, we will have an interactive session where participants will propose sessions they would like to see added to the agenda. Some Community Members are already proposing these sessions using the wiki page, seeding ideas that are important ahead of the Community Meeting. During the interactive session, we’ll compile a list of all the sessions proposed and participants will vote on their top choices. Those with the most votes will be added to the “Unconference” sessions in the agenda of the meeting.
Unconference Session Proposals
Unconferencing lets you (as the attended) set the topics you'd be interested in attending or presenting so please feel free to propose early session topic ideas to be considered and voted for "unconference sessions".
Topic and Description | Possible Host / Organisation | Persons Proposing (so we can follow up with you) | Brief Description of Proposed Session |
---|---|---|---|
OpenHIE Supply Chain Community Activity Report | VillageReach | Tenly Snow | This would be a primary session sharing information on the activities of the Supply Chain Community from inception to today. |
Working Session: HIE Health and Supply Chain - Defining common actors, definitions and information | VillageReach + Implementing Organizations on the health side | Tenly Snow | The OpenHIE Health and Supply Chain domains share a number of cross-cutting services as has been defined in the supply chain community. This working session will present the current thinking of the committee, define common service needs and work together to validate these ideas toward developing an integrated health and supply chain solution. We need experts in health, service delivery and logistics to get this right. |
Where the heck is my shipment? - What it takes to get an immunization from the manufacturer to the arm. | VillageReach, Logistimo and mSupply | Tenly Snow | This session would share common supply chain terminologies, definitions, actors and processes to educate the OpenHIE community about the supply chain. This session may/may not include reference to GS1 standards. |
Health Information System Interoperability Maturity Toolkit for Low-Resource Settings | MEASURE Evaluation | Manish Kumar | USAID’s MEASURE Evaluation project, in collaboration with the Digital Health and Interoperability technical working group of the Health Data Collaborative, has developed an Health Information System (HIS) Interoperability Maturity Toolkit for use by countries to assess and improve HIS interoperability. The toolkit enables countries to identify gaps associated with HIS interoperability and plan appropriate interventions to bridge those gaps. The first version of the tool was completed in December 2017 and will be reviewed annually based of lessons from implementation. In this session, we will (1) understand the rationale for developing HIS Interoperability Maturity toolkit; (2) learn when and how to use the assessment tool for strengthening HIS interoperability; and (3) discuss applicability of this toolkit as part of the OHIE’s ongoing in-country activities aimed at building strong interoperable HIS. |
How to assess and continuously improve maturity of health information systems for achieving better health outcomes | MEASURE Evaluation | Manish Kumar | This session will introduce the “HIS stages of continuous improvement” tool to the participants, describe the five stages, and explain how the tool’s application can identify gaps and support development of roadmaps to improve capabilities related to HIS processes, people and systems essential for achieving a country’s health goals. The tool’s development is a collaborative effort of the Digital Health and Interoperability Technical Working group of the Health Data Collaborative, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and MEASURE Evaluation (a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development). |
IHE Connectathon prep
| |||
Supply Chain | Carl L | ||
Architecture review board | Shaun G | ||
Case Based Reporting | Eric-Jan Manders | Theresa Cullen | Some countries have made significant investments in health information systems that were at least in part motivated by the implementation of a national HIV program. Where facility-based electronic health information systems exist, there are opportunities for automated public health reporting from the facility. In response to guidance from multilateral organizations such as WHO and UNAIDS, initiatives are emerging to implement a routine HIV case-based surveillance system. This session shows how case based reporting (CBR) generated from point of care HIT systems can support health information exchange and how CBR and HIEs can be leveraged in a surveillance use case. These use cases can support and align with overall country eHealth strategy. |
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics | Ed Duffus/ Chris S / Annina /Carl | ||
Deep Dive into Developing an eIDSR System | IntraHealth | Emily Nicholson/Ally Shabon | Session will focus on what it takes to actual realize an eIDSR deployment. We would seek other participants who’ve developed eIDSR’s to compliment IntraHealth's experiences in Liberia. |
Global Open Facility Registry Tool - | IntraHealth | Luke/Richard/Emily | An overview of the tool being built for DATIM and Digital Square, a conversation around desirable features for the tool and the role of facility registries |
Disease surveillance and emergency response | Wayan Vota | Paul Biondich | Focus on developing OpenHIE community approaches and tools for governments to use for disease surveillance and response for both fast-moving contagions (Ebola) and slow moving epidemics (HIV). This convening presents a unique opportunity to build awareness and momentum for an OpenHIE Disease Surveillance/Response Working Group and start the initial discussions. |
Accelerating adoption of the OpenHIE Framework | OHIE Architecture Community (Shaun Grannis / Jennifer Shivers) | OHIE Architecture |
|
FHIR Gaps | OHIE Architecture Team (Shaun Grannis / Jennifer Shivers) | OHIE Architecture | What are the FHIR gaps in supporting existing workflows and country needs and how do we fill them in? / OpenHIE + maturing HL7 FHIR standards |
OHIE Architecture | OHIE Architecture Team (Shaun Grannis / Jennifer Shivers) | OHIE Architecture |
|
Reference Components | OHIE Architecture Team (Shaun Grannis / Jennifer Shivers) | OHIE Architecture |
|
Health Intersections and FHIR | Carl L/Amanda B | ||
Establishing a laboratory information systems (LIS) community | RTI/UW? | Gordon Cressman | |
Terminology Services - empowering the OHIE platform towards semantic interoperability | OHIE Terminology Services Community | Jon Payne, Carol Macumber |
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Case Based Surveillance | Use-cases | Jembi | An open discussion forum on how Case Based Surveillance is being empowered and how teams are seeing the use of health information exchange patterns to achive this. |
openIMIS: A valuable use case for the openHIE framework | openIMIS Initiative/GIZ | Alicia Spengler, GIZ | A two part session to discuss uses of openHIE components for openIMIS: Part one: Presentations that concentrate on providing the audience with information on the current progress with regards to the openIMIS initiative including the technical roadmap and the community of practice. The input will also include implementation experiences as well as an example of how data generated from the system is currently being used, and further potential. Part two: Group work according to the different components of the openHIE framework (If it is deemed during the session that some registries are not applicable to openIMIS, fewer groups will be formed to focus on the most important registries). Each individual group to brainstorm on the possible interactions of openIMIS and the registry being discussed. The groups will also identify recommendations for the openIMIS technical roadmap as well as the openHIE framework to make such interactions possible. |
Site Visits
As part of the OpenHIE Community Meeting, participants will have the opportunity to visit health facilities in or near Arusha city, to see Electronic Immunization Registry implemented by the BID Initiative that used components of the OpenHIE architecture. Each site visit will include no more than 10 people, and will include a demonstration of the immunization registry system in operation at the site. The site visit will also showcase data use strategies that used by the team to build data use culture among frontline health care workers.
All participants who register to attend the OpenHIE Community Meeting can participate in one site visit at no additional charge. Participants will sign up for site visits during the first day of the conference. Site visits will be planned in parallel to the meeting sessions. Site visits will take place the morning of the third day of the Community Meeting (Thursday, August 2) and the morning of the first day of the Connect-a-thon (Wednesday, August 3). It is recommended that participants who are not joining the Connect-a-thon plan to attend a site visit on August 3, the day after the Community Meeting. It is recommended that participants who are participating in the Connect-a-thon, join site visits on August 2, the third day of the Community Meeting.
Connect-a-thon
Please visit the connectathon page for more information: 2018 OpenHIE Connectathon
The exchange of health system metadata is a critical issue for LMICs to address as they:
improve the monitoring of health system performance;
strive to meet SDG targets;
prioritize interventions to improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes; and
provide continuity of care across multiple levels and service providers in the health system.
Meeting these goals is rapidly driving a consensus on best practices and standards for interoperability of digital health tools for use in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Leveraging HL7 FHIR and OpenHIE is foundational.
Growing requests for accessible, affordable and expanded standards education are emerging from national and regional LMIC health entities in both Asia and Africa. The Connect-a-thon will provide an opportunity to build local and regional expertise in the use of these data exchange standards by involving the data analysts and developers that know the data and systems in operation on the ground. In addition, the Connect-a-thon seeks to promote a culture of data use by getting people excited about the potential uses of the data they are already collecting and by crowdsourcing new uses of existing data that will improve the delivery of healthcare.
Agenda and more details can be found HERE.
NOTE: The connect-a-thon is free to attend, but expressed interest is required during registration for the conference because space is limited. If you have any questions please contact Jamie Thomas.
Registration
To register for OHIE18, please CLICK HERE. For groups traveling together, please ensure each individual registers using the registration form.
Apply for Scholarship
The inaugural OpenHIE Community meeting will bring together Ministry of Health and Ministry of ICT leaders, experienced OpenHIE community members, developers of related health application software, and anyone new to the OpenHIE community who wants to learn more during a 3 day Community Meeting and 2 day Connect-a-thon. The event will take place at Mount Meru Hotel and Conference Center on July 31 - August 4 in Arusha, Tanzania.
There will be a limited number of scholarships available, providing travel support for participants of this event. Those chosen for a scholarship should be active, motivated members of the OpenHIE Community. Scholarship recipients should be ready to come to the Community meeting, bringing ideas, experiences and lessons learned to share with other participants.
Please complete this form to apply for a Scholarship to the OpenHIE Community Meeting by June 15, 2018. No late applications will be accepted. Recipients of scholarships will be notified by June 30, 2018.
The Scholarship Application Period has closed. Scholarships will be announced in late June.
If you are attending OHIE18 or wish you could but cannot and want to keep in touch with people at the conference.
- Tweet using the #OHIE18 hashtag.
Traveling to Tanzania
Visas and Invitation Letters:
Countries | Visa amount | Comments |
Ethiopia and Guinea | 50 USD | Needs to have approval, and the request should be done in two months before entry to Tanzania |
Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe | No Visa Needed | No visa needed for Tanzania travel |
Indonesia, Liberia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Philippines, Senegal, Srilanka, Thailand, Sierra Leone and Vietnam | 50 USD | The visa can be provided on Arrival |
USA | 100 USD | The visa can be provided on Arrival |
Information about visas can be found here: http://www.tanzaniaconsul.com/visa.html
There are some countries which their nationals require special clearance from the Commissioner General of Immigration or the Commissioner of Immigration (Zanzibar) prior to issuance of the Visa. These countries fall under the referral visa category. Applicants whose nationals fall under referral visa category are not advised to book flight tickets or make any reservations before they get their visa.
List of Countries which their Nationals require Referral Visa:
- Afghanistan
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Chad
- Djibouti
- Ethiopia
- Eritrea
- Equatorial Guinea
- Kazakhstan Republic
- Kyrgyzstan Republic
- Lebanon
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Niger
- Palestine
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somali land
- Somalia
- Sri Lanka
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
- Stateless (persons or persons with refugee status)
To do this, simply send an email to the Tanzania consulate nearest to you (eg embassy in Washington DC). The email must contain:
- The visa application form duly completed, stating the name and the contact information in Tanzania.
- A copy of the first pages of the passport
- A copy of the ticket (recommended)
Once the request is sent, the consulate sends documents for processing at the Immigration Service in Tanzania that returns a certificate in pdf format to present on site for the establishment of the visa.
The duration of treatment is quite random, it can last from 3 days to 6 weeks depending on the season. Do not hesitate to call the consulate to obtain information.
If you require an invitation letter please contact Esther Mushi as soon as possible. Yellow fever vaccination cards are a prerequisite for your travel to Tanzania.
Vaccinations
For a list of CDC recommended vaccines, visit here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/tanzania
Accommodations
Please send your request to reservations@mountmeruhotel.co.tz (addressed to Hawa Simba) and identify yourself as attending a "PATH event". The hotel is able to take a credit card to secure the room and then charge payment when you check in. Please be advised that payment can be through bank transfer (see bank details here) or credit card guarantee and rooms without deposit will be cancelled.
- Shared Room Price: $82/night (per person)
- Single Room Price: $130/night
Other accommodations in the area Kibo Palace Hotel and Four Points Arusha (5 min drive from Mount Meru Hotel and Conference Centre). If you have any questions or concerns please contact Jamal Nassor - jnassor@path.org.
Transport
To coordinate transport for people from and to Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) we will be asking for travel itineraries over the next couple of months via email. If you have already booked your travel please share you itinerary with Jamal Nassor - jnassor@path.org.
Event Sponsorships
Coming Soon!
Please contact ohie-implementers@googlegroups.com for more information.