The health workforce data is captured in iHRIS Qualify, a health worker registration and licensure tracking system developed and supported by CapacityPlus . iHRIS Qualify is part of the larger Suite of open source software. Over a dozen countries in Africa and Asia are implementing the iHRIS software products and contributing to their development. In some countries, like Uganda, other USAID-funded projects are providing technical assistance.

All medical and dental practitioners in Uganda are required to register with the UMDPC and obtain an annual practicing license. Unfortunately, many are not properly registered while others have no valid license. On top of this, some people pose as medical practitioners without appropriate training, which can result in poor quality or harmful health services, and has led to many complaints filed with the council.

The Uganda Capacity Program —headed by CapacityPlus lead partner IntraHealth International —works with the UMDPC in various ways, including supporting iHRIS Qualify at the council and helping to develop the mobile directory.

Records on 3,877 doctors and dentists are available in the council’s iHRIS Qualify system. Now, using SMS technology, this information can be accessed by anyone, anywhere in the country. All one needs to do is type “doctor” followed by a health worker’s name into a mobile phone, and send it to the council. Information received will indicate if the doctor or dentist has registered, has a current license, and has a specialty. Similar information can be determined for more than 3,500 facilities.

The Uganda Capacity Program plans to tailor the service for the other health professional councils in the country: the Pharmacy Council, the Allied Health Workers’ Council, and the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Council.

A part of the iHRIS Suite of software, iHRIS Manage maintains health worker deployment, performance, and attrition information while iHRIS Qualify tracks training, certification, and licensure.

Final Feature Release
In order to concentrate our development efforts on the 4.1 series of iHRIS, this will be our final feature release for iHRIS in the 4.0 Series. The only new releases of 4.0.X will be to address high-priority security issues or critical bugs.

Release Changes

This release includes several improvements and bug fixes, including:
• Reports generate much much faster
• Bug causing a failure on a system update 853936
A complete list of changes since version 4.0.19 can be found here: http://www.ihris.org/wiki/IHRIS_Suite_4.0_Development#4.0.21

New Documentation

New documentation can be found on our wiki:
• Decentralized iHRIS Structure (Thanks Sovello!)
http://www.ihris.org/wiki/Decentralized_iHRIS_Structure
• Generating Reports Periodically
http://www.ihris.org/wiki/Generate_Reports_Automatically
• Archiving Reports Automatically
http://www.ihris.org/wiki/Archive_Reports_Automatically

New Code Bounties

iHRIS Development is a team effort. We appreciate all the help you have given us with bug reporting, documentation and coding. We are now starting to offer code bounties to help encourage more development and documentation of the iHRIS Software.
• XML Representation of Field Data: http://www.capacityplus.org/hris/blog/index.php/2011/12/code-bounty-xml-representation-of-field-data/

• Translation into Arabic: http://www.capacityplus.org/hris/blog/index.php/2011/12/code-bounty-english-to-arabic-translations/

If you are interested in the code bounties, please contact Brooke Buchanan at bbuchanan@capacityplus.org for details on the application process.

Installation

For complete installation instructions, please visit this link:
http://www.ihris.org/wiki/Linux_%28Ubuntu%29_Installation

For your convenience we have included links to important downloads:
• iHRIS Suite:
http://launchpad.net/i2ce/4.0/4.0.21/+download/ihris-suite-4.0.21.tar.bz2
• iHRIS Qualify:
http://launchpad.net/ihris-qualify/4.0/4.0.21/+download/ihris-qualify-full-4.0.21.tar.bz2
• iHRIS Manage:
http://launchpad.net/ihris-manage/4.0/4.0.19/+download/ihris-manage-full-4.0.19.tar.bz2

Translations

Thanks goes out to the launchpad and translatewiki translation community for continuing to support translation of iHRIS. The complete list of language options in 4.0.21 includes Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German, Italian, Malian French, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, and Tagalog.

Scope of Work

1. Background and Objectives

CapacityPlus, the USAID global flagship project for human resources for health, has been globally supporting human resources information system (HRIS) strengthening. XML representation of field data would create a standard way of representing form field data safely as structured xml. It would be used by the custom reporting module whenever export as XML is chosen. This would be added for version 4.1 of I2CE/iHRIS. Currently the reporting system for iHRIS exports data in XML in an unsafe way, namely it dumps out the database value. For the currently limited uses of XML report this has not been too problematic. However, there are some issues that need to be resolved so that XML based report exports can be more readily implemented and fully utilized. These issues include:

• Potential for exported data to itself can xml data which would make the xml export invalid
• Inability to export binary data (such as PDF files or photos) in a readable format
• XSLT manipulation of structured data (such a mapped fields) is painful and ugly and prone to breakage as it can only the simple string manipulation functions available

Note: This will break existing XSLT transforms of exported XML data. In particular of the transforms used by Kenya and Zanzibar would need to be updated before they upgrade to 4.1 of iHRIS. This is intentional as we would now be able to use xpath queries to get at the needed data rather than perform string manipulations.

2. Responsibilities and Detailed List of Tasks

• Work Closely with CapacityPlus/iHRIS team
• Maintain contact with iHRIS team throughout assignment
• Work with key staff to identify needed resources

3. Methodology and Available Resource Materials

The chosen candidate will have access to CapacityPlus and HRIS team members as well as all needed software and documentation including:
http://www.ihris.org/wiki/Standard_XML_Representations_of_Field_Data

4. Deliverables and Reports

The main deliverables of the assignment will be:

Fully functional, documented, and tested code that implements the code requirements as defined in:
http://www.ihris.org/wiki/Standard_XML_Representations_of_Field_Data

• Updates to the XSLT transforms used by Kenya and Zanzibar for SDMX-HD (see links below)
https://code.launchpad.net/~zanzibar-his/zanzibar-sdmx-hd/trunk
https://code.launchpad.net/~his-interop/kenya-sdmx-hd/trunk

5. Location

Global

6. Period of Performance

The assignment will take place during December 2011-February 2012

7. Qualifications

• Experience in creating new forms in iHRIS
• Experience in object oriented PHP
• Experience with XML

8. Submitting Applications

The interested candidates who are qualified should send their CVs and cover letter to Brooke Buchanan at bbuchanan@intrahealth.org before December 29, 2011. Cover letters should include the expected number of days to complete the assignment, expected daily rate in US $ at 8 hrs/day. Please note, daily rates less than $50 are preferred.

iHRIS English to Arabic Translations

1. Background and Objectives

CapacityPlus, the USAID global flagship project for human resources for health, has been globally supporting human resources information system (HRIS) strengthening. In order to establish an effective regional HRIS presence in Arabic speaking countries where we have not implemented iHRIS or supported an existing HRIS, our documentation requires translation.

The translation activities will be led by the CapacityPlus’ HRIS team.

2. Responsibilities and Detailed List of Tasks

1.Work closely with CapacityPlus staff to ensure translation documents are available
2.Maintain contact with HRIS Team throughout assignment
3.Work with key staff to identify key documents and needed resources
4.Work with HRIS Team to develop timeline
5.Identify needed modifications in documents
6.Ensure display of Arabic translations is acceptable and readable.

3. Methodology and Available Resource Materials

The translator will have access to CapacityPlus and HRIS team members as well as all documentation needed to be translated.

4. Deliverables and Reports

The main deliverables of the assignment will be:
•Translate from English into Arabic the following:
◦I2ce-translations-ar
◦Ihris-common-translations-ar
◦Ihris-manage-translations-ar
◦Ihris-qualify-translations-ar

5. Location

Global

6. Period of Performance

The assignment will take place during December 2011-February 2012

7. Consultant Qualifications

The assignment will require a translator with demonstrable competencies and experiences in:
1.Knowledge and experience in technical translations, specifically related to HRH and HRIS
2.Fluency in English and Arabic

The translator hired to support the undertaking of the assignment should have a combination of the following sets of qualifications:
1.Professional qualification in technical translations
2.Knowledge and demonstrable experience in English and Arabic translation
3.Knowledge and experience in HRH Information Systems.

8.Submitting Applications

The interested candidates who are qualified should send their CVs and cover letter to Brooke Buchanan at bbuchanan@intrahealth.org before December 27, 2011. Cover letters should include the expected number of days to complete the translations, expected daily rate in US $ at 8 hrs/day. Please note, daily rates less than $50 are preferred.

Notes:

Please refer to our wiki to see the translation materials: http://www.ihris.org/wiki/Arabic_Translations

•Each .xls file consists of a series of worksheets. Each worksheet
has two columns. The first column is the English text. The second
column is where the Arabic text should be placed (there are a few places where there are existing Arabic translations)
•Under no circumstances should the first column be altered in any way. If the translator happens to see a spelling error or some such thing, then the translator needs to simply highlight the English.

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Background and Objectives

The Ministry of Heath in Ghana has piloted the iHRIS Manage software in the Northern Region and the Tamale Teaching Hospital. They intend on having a decentralized iHRIS system consisting of the 10 regions as well as the national teaching and referral hospitals. They wish to aggregate the data collected at the regional level to a national site.

2. Responsibilities and Detailed List of Tasks

The Consultant will document the process of establishing a decentralized iHRIS implementation which aggregates to the national level. The documentation will:

• Include a high level overview of decentralized iHRIS
• Discuss the need for standardized data lists
• Describe the technical means to implement decentralized iHRIS customizations for Ghana Due to the existing pilot implementations for which a standardized data list was not used, the Consultant will also document the process of:
• Merging existing database lists into a standardized database list
• Remapping the existing lists and data fields that refer to those lists, to the newly developed standardized database list

• Documentation on http://open.intrahealth.org on the decentralized iHRIS implementation
• Excel spreadsheet for the MOH Ghana to use to determine which forms will be standardized at the central level, and which will be maintained at the regional level. The forms listed in the spreadsheet will be those that are in the Ghana customizations.
• Documentation on http://open.intrahealth.org on how to “remap” the existing IDs.
• Source code under the Ghana project at http://www.launchpad.net which will begin the decentralized iHRIS installation for Ghana. Accompanying documentation on how the sites should be implemented (see this for a reference example) should be added to http://open.intrahealth.org All documentation will be under a Creative Commons license. All source code will be GPLV3. Deliverables due one week from beginning of contract.

4. Location: Accra, Ghana

5. Duration of Consultancy
The duration for carrying out this consultation is estimated at 10 days. This assignment is expected to take place during October 2011 for completion in November 2011.

6. Qualifications

• Experience in maintaining decentralized iHRIS installation
• Experience in documenting iHRIS
• Experience in maintaining standardized lists in iHRIS

IntraHealth is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

7. Submission of Application

Please submit a resume, CV, and cover letter (expressing how your knowledge, skills and abilities are a direct match for position description), salary history and three professional references at bbuchanan@intrahealth.org. Place the job/position title in the subject line. Resumes that do not match the Knowledge and Expertise will not be considered. No phone calls please. Applications received after October 6, 2011 will be rejected.

Part of the iHRIS Suite of software, iHRIS Manage maintains health worker deployment, performance, and attrition information while iHRIS Qualify tracks training, certification, and licensure.

Since the 4.0.15 release, we added several new features and enhancements to improve the usability and data quality of the software, including:

• A new checkbox display for entering data and selecting multiple form entries
• Steps to avoid duplicate data entry
• Options for granting public access to reports
• The ability to print documents with images, such as license cards with health worker photos
• An easier way to select language options
• An easier way to limit report views
• Improved error messaging
• A new Training Instructor Module, which allows iHRIS administrators to manage training instructors and assign them to courses.

We also fixed several bugs reported by iHRIS users. A full list of changes in version 4.0.18 can be found here.

This release also introduces Malian French as a language option. The complete list of language options in 4.0.18 includes Dutch, Estonian, French, Malian French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, and Tagalog.

The full iHRIS Suite or any component may be downloaded from our Software Download page. Please review the README file and installation instructions before downloading.

You may access a live, working demo of each of the systems on our iHRIS Software Suite page.

Until last December, Professor Odusote was the director of human resources for health for the West African Health Organization (WAHO). While working for WAHO, he downloaded iHRIS from our website and adapted it for a pilot in Ghana. The success of the pilot fueled a regional movement and now Dr. Odusote works with other nearby countries—including Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo— to modify and implement iHRIS to identify and address health workforce challenges.

Over the last two weeks, Dr. Odusote presented his work to foster independent deployment and country ownership of iHRIS in his region at the following meetings:

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Informatics Conference in Atlanta, GA
• An interactive webinar with the global iHRIS team, including participants from Botswana, Lesotho, and South Africa
• A brown bag at IntraHealth International in Chapel Hill, NC with guests from Columbia University, Duke University, Family Health Ministries, MEASURE Evaluation, North Carolina Central University, and the University of North Carolina
• A meeting with representatives from USAID, the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, and collaborating projects and organizations in Washington, DC  

Read the publication to find out how Dr. Alvin Marcelo plans to use iHRIS along with other health applications, like DHIS 2 (a district health management system), to improve health outcomes in the Philippines. Dr. Marcelo believes these applications can work together to produce aggregated information that health-sector leaders can use to address gaps and make effective decisions. For example, statistics on disease prevalence at the district level (from DHIS 2) could be integrated with data showing the skill mix of health workers for the same district (from iHRIS Manage), which could inform decisions about where certain health workers should be posted.

Following the ‘release early, release often’ philosophy that encourages user feedback, we published eleven new releases of our iHRIS Qualify and iHRIS Manage software. We added new capabilities focused on improving the usability of the software, expanding translation support, enhancing our reporting module for data analysis and use, and, of course, fixing bugs.

New modules and features related to health workforce management advanced the software from tracking health workers to integrating routine HR functionalities for better day-to-day management of health workers. Additional developments enable the iHRIS software to more easily integrate with other health information systems, such as DHIS2 (a district health management information system) and OpenMRS (a medical record systems), to allow for the aggregation of health workforce data with health delivery information and disease statistics.

With better translation support, the languages included in the last release (version 4.0.16) included Dutch, Estonian, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, and Tagalog.

We also announced a major release candidate to the global iHRIS community for review, testing, and feedback, which is anticipated for release in September and will improve security and accessibility of the software.

Here are some highlights of each release:

Version 4.0.6, released in August 2010, introduced several new modules and the ability to archive reports for future comparison. It also included enhanced support for the World Health Organization’s data exchange standard, SDMX-HD, a means for sharing health workforce data in iHRIS with other health information systems. New modules included:

• A Next of Kin module to track additional health worker contact information
• An Establishment Module in iHRIS Manage to track budgeted positions and/or staffing norms
• A Scanned Paper Records Module to archive paper forms and letters generated and distributed when health workers are confirmed, promoted, or transferred
• A Confirmation/Probationary Work Period module to track and document when a health worker is confirmed.

This release also included the ability to upload meeting notes for position changes and interviews.

Version 4.0.7, released in September 2010, addressed miscellaneous reported bugs.

Version 4.0.8, released in November 2010, included improvements to the Report module and to dropdown menu displays of standardized lists, as well as miscellaneous bug fixes. Other enhancements included:

• A new Record Status Module, which was requested from users in Botswana, to assist with data quality audits and tracking which records need review or have missing data
• Additional fields to capture multiple exam results in the iHRIS Manage Training Module.

Version 4.0.9, released in December 2010, further improved reporting functionality, adding the ability to ‘pivot’ on reports, which prompts users viewing a report to link to other relevant reports in the system, and the ability to merge reports together. This version also made translation of the software into other languages easier through Translatewiki, a site that facilitates a large community of volunteer translators. New features in this version will help administrators and users ensure consistent data quality — the standard validation and behavior of several fields that capture information on health workers’ identification, language proficiency, and position codes were modified and there is now an easier method to add custom data validation.  

Version 4.0.10, released in December 2010, addressed a minor bug.  

Version 4.0.11, released in March 2011, introduced new data management tools for cleansing data, an important step for aggregating data into meaningful reports. The new tools include a safe way to delete data and the ability to share standardized data lists across multiple iHRIS installations. Also, with this release, printed and archived reports display any limits applied to reports. In addition, the reporting interface was improved.

Version 4.0.12, also released in March 2011, marked a significant step forward with the introduction of a new Debian packaging system that eases the installation and upgrade process, and reduces the ICT burden. Now most of the installation process is automated, and administrators are simply asked to enter the system password. Administrators are also notified when iHRIS updates are available.

Version 4.0.13, released in April 2011, included speed improvements for reporting, as well as some minor enhancements and bug fixes.

Version 4.0.14, released in May 2011, included a module for producing standardized letters and forms based on OpenOffice documents.

Version 4.0.15, also released in May 2011, included updates to the Debian packaging system introduced in 4.0.12, as well as miscellaneous bug fixes.

Version 4.0.16, released in June 2011, included several new features and enhancements to improve the usability and data quality of the software, including:  

• A new checkbox display for entering data and selecting multiple form entries
• An easier way to limit report views
• Steps to avoid duplicate entry of forms
• Improved error messaging.

Finally, our Version 4.1 release candidate added enhanced database security to enable:

• Self-Service:  HR managers and system administrators will be able to allow health workers to view the details of their own records and to submit changes  
• Geographic- and facility-based HR Staff controls:  HR managers and system administrators will be able to associate an iHRIS user with a facility, ward, district, or region. Then the user will have the ability to modify the personnel records for employees within that location, while protecting personnel records from employees that should not have access.  This functionality greatly enhances the use of iHRIS in a decentralized environment where facilities and districts maintain and use their own data, while still permitting aggregation and management of data at the central level.

In collaboration with development partners, the Ministry of Health has already embarked on several eHealth initiatives, including health management information systems, electronic medical records, human resources information systems (HRIS), and telemedicine. The Ministry organized the workshop as a step toward developing appropriate health informatics standards and an architectural framework to ensure interoperability and scalability of these initiatives, as well as to focus on capacity-building of Ministry staff to foster sustainability.

Settle demonstrated our iHRIS Suite of free, Open Source software for planning and managing the health workforce:

• iHRIS Qualify tracks health worker training, certification, and licensure
• iHRIS Manage maintains personnel deployment, performance, and attrition information
• iHRIS Plan models long-term health workforce needs
• iHRIS Retain (forthcoming) costs retention strategies to be implemented at the district, regional, or national level.

He also cofacilitated two sessions: Regional experiences with eHealth and standards implementation: The path towards interoperability and enterprise architecture and Data standards and registries, and served as a rapporteur in a session on Regional and global health observatories.

During the workshop, participants discussed the needed infrastructure for health information systems (HIS); set priorities and identified steps necessary for completing an implementation strategy; increased their understanding of the importance of adopting national HIS standards; and learned about the purpose of an interoperability framework to support the implementation of priority HIS interventions.