Hospital administrators, staff to be trained as gov’t moves to automate health sector

A team of 22 Information Technology scientists has been sent to conduct both fresh and refresher training for the Hospital Management System (iHMIS).

The training will be conducted by a team from the Integrated Intelligent Computer System(IICS) which developed the IHMIS.

iHMIS helps track medicine usage, records management, and monitors attendance of medical workers among others.

The system has since been deployed in 10 regional hospitals including Moroto,, Soroti, Gulu, Hoima, Fort Portal, Mbarara, Kabale, Masaka, and Naguru China-Uganda Friendship Hospital.

Speaking on Saturday, Rodney Ekisa, the team leader in charge of software development at IICS said the training will help equip the hospital administrators and staff with more knowledge about the system.

“This is a growing system and basing on the feedback from the field and  hospitals, we make a few changes. This time, we are to train users on enhancements on stocktaking and management, inpatient module on handling patients from the time they come in and tracking their reviews, prescriptions among others,”Ekisa said.

“Others are enhancements in the performance of the system that we want the administrators and staff to get accustomed to.”

At the end of the training by the administrators and staff, the ten regional hospitals where they are deployed will have achieved significant strides and consequently will go paperless as an immediate result.

Government through the Ministry of Health approved the deployment of the system as a means to increase efficiency in public hospitals and health centres but also to reduce on the unnecessary health expenditures.

The deployment of the system came after unmeasured supply of medicine which on many occasions resulted into wastage because of expiration.

As part of the new system, administrators and staff will be able to capture patients’ records, prescription history and the total end to end operations of the hospital on the automated system.

This according to government will save both patients and hospital administrators from possible loss of physical records and also cutting costs from paper purchase, among others.