East African Center of Excellence in Health Informatics Establishes Bid to Bridge Digital Divide

Strategic Insights -

The establishment of the East African Center of Excellence in Health Informatics, funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center, aims to bridge the digital divide in one of the world's poorest regions. The center will connect the expertise of Indiana University's informatics program with Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in East Africa, leveraging electronic health records to increase the efficiency and quality of care. The initiative is built upon a nearly two-decade collaboration between IU and Moi University, which has resulted in the development of the AMPATH Medical Record System, the first electronic medical record system in sub-Saharan Africa.

Key Takeaways:

  • The East African Center of Excellence in Health Informatics, funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center, aims to bridge the digital divide in East Africa.
  • The center will connect the expertise of Indiana University's informatics program with Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in East Africa to increase the capacity for electronic health records.
  • The initiative will leverage electronic health records to increase the efficiency and quality of care, with particular emphasis on training East Africans to use electronic tools to solve healthcare problems in their own countries.
  • The center builds upon a nearly two-decade collaboration between IU and Moi University, which has resulted in the development of the AMPATH Medical Record System, the first electronic medical record system in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The AMPATH Medical Record System has grown to serve 46 urban and rural health centers in western Kenya, with over two million visit records for over 100,000 Kenyans.
  • The system has spawned OpenMRS, a free open-source electronic medical record system now widely adopted in the developing world.
  • Paul Biondich, Regenstrief Institute investigator and associate professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine, co-directs the East African Center of Excellence in Medical Informatics.
  • Abraham Siika, M.D., of Moi University and a former Regenstrief-Moi biomedical informatics fellow, is also a co-director of the regional Center of Excellence.
  • The grant will support the reinstatement of the Regenstrief-Moi biomedical informatics fellowship program, which will increase health informatics capacity throughout East Africa using various approaches.

Statistics:

  • $1.3 million: Grant to Indiana University from the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center to establish the East African Center of Excellence in Health Informatics.
  • $9.23 million: Total funding for global health informatics awards from NIH, with the award to Indiana University being one of eight.
  • 46: Number of urban and rural health centers in western Kenya served by the AMPATH Medical Record System.
  • 100,000: Number of Kenyans with over two million visit records in the AMPATH Medical Record System.
  • 2-4 times: Increase in patient care capacity for clinics using electronic medical records compared to those using paper records.
  • 2002: Year Dr. William Tierney was named an elder of the Nandi tribe of Mosoriot, Kenya, in recognition of his work to improve health in Kenya.

Sources:

  • A $1.3 million grant to Indiana University from the National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center.
  • Public Health.
  • Biotech Week editors.
  • NewsRx.com.