Open Architectures, Standards and Information Systems for Healthcare in Africa

The Open Architectures, Standards and Information Systems for healthcare in Africa (OASIS) project, funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), aims to develop sustainable models for open health information systems development and implementation in developing countries.  Since 2007, the team has started nodes in association with local universities in South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.  OASIS nodes develop local expertise in health informatics and support the Ministry of Health by developing public health information systems using open technologies.

 

OASIS is a member of the OpenMRS network and the group develops and supports public health information systems using OpenMRS.  OASIS operates the annual OpenMRS Implementers meeting in South Africa as well as country-level workshops and training sessions.  OASIS also manages the OpenMRS Internship program offers stipends to young African developers to participate in OpenMRS development.

 

The OASIS network has grown to include collaborations with the Millennium Villages project, the OpenROSA consortium, Partners in Health and a new group developing an open enterprise eHealth architectural framework.  The extended OASIS network encompasses a wide range of public health information system applications, from eHealth enterprise architecture to medical records, mobile phone and community applications.   The network is well poised to promote standardization, resource sharing, and achieve economies of scale.  The group has also developed a common research methodology framework to evaluate the health impact of the wide range of technologies and settings being explored by different members of the network. This will enable the group to combine data, achieve a higher statistical power, and compare results.

 

The overarching framework will harmonize the activities of the network and improve long term support for open public health information systems and a provide strategies for building capacity for health informatics.