For nearly a decade I-TECH has worked in Côte d’Ivoire in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop and implement an electronic laboratory information system (LIS) in key laboratories. In order to respond to evolving data needs and ensure timely access to quality laboratory data, an electronic LIS requires ongoing development and continuous user training and technical support.
Previously, from 2015-2017 I-TECH worked closely with the Ivorian Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MSHP)’s Directorate of Informatics and Sanitary Information (DIIS) to identify, develop and reinforce the capacity of local professionals to lead and conduct LIS training, deployment, and maintenance activities in anticipation of national roll-out of the LIS at 96 general hospital laboratories. As part of this effort, and in collaboration with the DIIS, I-TECH trained users and deployed LIS at 13 national and regional level laboratories. Between 2013 and 2015, the total number of local professionals competent in LIS deployment increased to 24 local LIS support providers, while the number of in-country LIS trainers increased to 27. Within ten months, local IT providers and trainers trained over 75 health care workers to use an LIS and implemented an LIS at 36 laboratories. During supervision visits to 26 laboratories, within 4 to 6 months post-installation, 25 out of 26 (96%) of laboratories were actively using the LIS.
More recently, Côte d’Ivoire International Training and Education for Health (I-TECH CIV), I-TECH’s local partner in Côte d’Ivoire, has started working directly with CDC and DIIS and continued to engage I-TECH computer developers and deployment strategists to continue the progress with LIS.
I-TECH continues to make considerable progress with code base development for OpenELIS. For more information, visit the OpenELIS Global website.
Since 2020, the Digital Initiatives Group at I-TECH (DIGI) has worked closely with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to optimize and improve workflows across health systems in Mauritius to ensure the rapid processing and notification of COVID-19 test results.
In collaboration with the Mauritius MOHW, DIGI deployed OpenELIS, an open-source electronic LIMS, to increase capacity at the national reference laboratory and optimize the workflow between regional flu clinics and reference labs.
DIGI also digitized the COVID-19 screening declaration form that is used for all passengers arriving at the Mauritius International Airport and supported MOHW in opening a COVID-19 reference laboratory at the airport to rapidly process tests and notify passengers of their COVID-19 test results. Since opening in December 2020, the airport reference laboratory has returned over 250,000 tests and continues to process thousands of tests daily.
DIGI continues to support MOHW with LIMS training, LIMS maintenance, and national laboratory strengthening.
Program Highlights
The Digital Initiatives Group at I-TECH (DIGI) worked closely with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to implement a national laboratory information system (LIMS) using OpenELIS and expanded it to create a national-level data warehouse.
The data warehouse captures all the information that has been input into OpenELIS by the two reference labs and all ten regional flu clinics and creates real-time, easy-to-read data dashboards. These dashboards are used by the MOHW staff and public health officials to track national COVID-19 cases numbers and trace ongoing and potential outbreaks of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
DIGI continues to support MOHW with LIMS training, LIMS maintenance, and national laboratory strengthening.
Since 2020, the Digital Initiative Group at I-TECH (DIGI) has worked closely with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to deploy a national laboratory information management system (LIMS) using the OpenELIS platform. The LIMS connects the national reference laboratory to regional laboratories and flu clinics around the country to quickly process COVID-19 tests, as well as send results notifications to patients via text message or email.
The OpenELIS system, while implemented to support COVID-19 surveillance, was also designed to be able to support most routine lab workflows, including HIV viral load testing and other other infectious diseases (e.g., HIV, Ebola, Zika, Chikungunya), which ensures MOHW can quickly trace, respond to, and manage cases.
DIGI continues to support MOHW with LIMS training, LIMS maintenance, and national laboratory strengthening.
As a measure to help stop the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Mauritius began requiring that all arriving passengers submit to COVID-19 health screenings upon arrival in Mauritius. To rapidly process the influx of tests and quickly notify passengers of their results, the Digital Initiatives Group at I-TECH (DIGI) worked closely with the Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to digitize the COVID-19 screening declaration form for all passengers arriving to the Mauritius International Airport and supported MOHW in opening a COVID-19 reference laboratory at the airport to rapidly process the tests and send notifications of COVID-19 tests passengers.
The airport laboratory is connected to the National Reference Laboratory via OpenELIS, which allows all the data captured on the digital form, such as passenger information and COVID-19 screenings/test results, to assist public health officials from all over Mauritius to carry out surveillance and contact tracing efforts.
Since opening in December 2020, the airport reference laboratory has returned over 250,000 tests and continues to process thousands of tests to passengers and citizens of Mauritius daily.
I-TECH provides technical assistance on the prevention and control of COVID-19 that ranges from training health care workers and facilities in infection prevention and control best practices to supporting the development of national policies and standard operating procedures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I-TECH continues to work with ministries of health and other key stakeholders to ensure that laboratories, health facilities, and clinics are implementing and being trained in procedures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19.
In addition to directly supporting COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, I-TECH has been working with governments and the ministries of health to ensure the continuity of HIV care and treatment by supporting clinicians via telephone consultations, developing messaging campaigns to connect people living with HIV (PLHIV) with pharmacies and clinics stocked with antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications, and helping PLHIV form community ART refill groups.
Program Highlights
Medical laboratories are a critical component of quality health care and provide essential data for patient care and treatment, disease prevention and control, and public health policy development. I-TECH recognizes laboratory strengthening as a core component of its work. I-TECH’s Laboratory Systems Strengthening (LSS) team’s mission is to improve laboratory operations for optimal patient care and treatment, disease surveillance and response, biosecurity, and policy development. The LSS team fosters the development of sustainable laboratory systems and laboratory capacity in multiple countries throughout the world and comprises staff at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, as well as locally based staff. The team leverages partnerships within UW and with external collaborators globally, and engages directly with Ministries of Health and funders to accomplish mutual objectives.
In addition to the highlights below, I-TECH also has had laboratory programs in Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Lao PDR, the Middle East and North Africa, and Zambia.
Program Highlights
Since 2005, I-TECH has drawn on expertise from the University of Washington and the University of California, San Francisco, to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) in advancing priorities in the areas of health information systems (HIS), HIS leadership and governance, Global Health Security (GHSA), and evidence-based Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices.
I-TECH Kenya’s programs aim to improve the quality of patient care and enable health care facilities to meet their health information, data collection, and reporting needs. I-TECH Kenya’s GHSA funded programs aim to advance the Global Health Security Agenda through strengthening information systems and reporting, and improving IPC in health care facilities.
In all efforts, I-TECH Kenya works closely with the MOH and local partners to develop and implement programs that can be successfully transitioned to local ownership, ensuring sustainable progress toward Kenya’s long-term health goals.
Program Highlights
Since 2009, the University of Washington’s International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH) has worked with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Côte d’Ivoire Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MSHP) to strengthen laboratory information systems at the national and regional levels. I-TECH laboratory support to Côte d’Ivoire aims to develop and implement targeted interventions designed to support expanded use of laboratory information systems and their data for decision making. With I-TECH support, adoption of an open-source electronic laboratory information system (eLIS) has already resulted in improved efficiency and accuracy of laboratory data collection and reporting. Over 50 national, regional, and general hospital laboratories across Côte d’Ivoire have implemented eLIS systems.
In 2021, I-TECH began a five-year cooperative agreement with the United States Health Resources and Services Administration under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to begin implementing the Quality Improvement (QI) Solutions for Sustained Epidemic Control (QISSEC) project, which aims to improve data quality and strengthen capacity to help close HIV-related service delivery gaps across clinics and communities throughout Côte d’Ivoire.
Current Program Highlights
Past Programs
I-TECH’s Health Information Systems Team lies within the Health Systems Strengthening division. The team has significant capacity in the rapidly expanding field of Health Information Systems for resource-limited clinical settings. I-TECH develops and deploys systems and provides technical assistance and training on electronic medical records, laboratory information management, disease surveillance, national eHealth architecture design, national standards for data transfer and system interoperability, and data use for improved clinical service delivery.
Program Highlights
