Hereby to share a new resource on IIS produced by the Vaccine-preventable diseases at ECDC in collaboration with partners globally: Designing and implementing an immunisation information system. A handbook for those involved in the design, implementation or management of immunisation information systems https://www.technet-21.org/en/library/explore/immunization-information-systems-coverage-monitoring/5027-handbook-designing-and-implementing-an-immunisation-information-system We would like to ...

The Gavi Secretariat has released a global  standards document for immunisation supply chain (iSC) information systems.  A hallmark of effective supply chains is end-to-end (E2E) visibility of supply and demand data that are used to make decisions and take effective action. For immunisation programmes, a critical success factor is access to accurate, complete and timely data on vaccine utilisation and distribution, the performance and deployment of cold chain equipment (CCE), and the routine us...

Dear colleagues,  The results of external evaluations assessing MyChild Solution based on Smart Paper Technology in Afghanistan are now available. These evaluations assessed the data quality, operational costs, efficiency gains as well as transfer of work processes to the existing health system in Afghanistan. In 2015, the Shifo Foundation, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), IKEA Foundation, and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in Afghanistan started a joint collaboration to stre...

Dear TechNet-21 Colleagues, The OpenLMIS Community is hosting a French-language webinar this Thursday, May 24 at 6 AM PST / 13h00 UTC on the latest features in the OpenLMIS 3.3 release. Details for the meeting including the call-in number are below, and the event is listed in the TechNet-21 events calendar.  Hope to see you there!  Tenly SnowOpenLMIS Community Manager   Invitation en français  Salutations chers collègues, La communauté OpenLMIS organise un webinar en français le 24 mai ...

Greetings TechNet Colleagues, Please save the date on Thursday, May 10 at 13h00 UTC (6:00 AM PST) when the OpenLMIS Community will host a webinar presenting the latest features in the OpenLMIS software (webinar will be presented in English). Additional webinars will be presented in French (May 24) and Portuguese (June 7). Further details will be announced closer to the event time, but please feel free to contact us at info@openlmis.org if you would like to attend either of these additional web...

Greetings iSC Colleagues, The OpenLMIS Community is proud to announce the release of OpenLMIS version 3.3, the latest release in the version 3 series specifically supporting immunization supply chains (iSC). Immunization supply chains are facing a time of decreasing resources and increasing risk, underlining the importance of managing data at all levels. In response to consistent requests to add functionality to address the needs of iSC, OpenLMIS is proud to release the first set of vaccine-sp...

Greetings,  A new blog is available on openlmis.org, presenting an exciting collaboration between OpenLMIS and Nexleaf Analytics to incorporate remote temperature monitoring (RTM) data into the OpenLMIS logistics software: http://openlmis.org/integrating-cold-chain-data-openlmis-collaboration-nexleaf-analytics/ This collaboration allows anyone adopting OpenLMIS and utilizing any RTM system to have an informed view of the cold chain status alongside their core vaccine stock and delivery data.  ...

Dear TechNet-21 Members, Please join OpenLMIS on November 30th at 8 AM PST/ 5 PM CET/ 7 PM EAT for a webinar presenting details on the current roadmap and latest developments in the OpenLMIS v3 vaccine module. This webinar will serve as a refresher for those involved with the development of the vaccine module and a presentation of the roadmap and recently developed features for those interested in learning more about how OpenLMIS manages vaccines. Please register in advance for this webinar b...

The OpenLMIS community has the pleasure to announce the milestone release of OpenLMIS version 3.2. In line with the version 3 series, 3.2 includes new features in stock management, new administrative screens, targeted performance improvements and a beta version of the Cold Chain Equipment (CCE) service. It also contains contributions from the Malawi implementation, a national implementation that is now live on OpenLMIS version 3. 3.2 represents the first milestone towards the Vaccines MVP fea...

Dear TechNet Colleagues, I am pleased to share a workshop report on the Francophone OpenLMIS User-Centered Design Workshop facilitated by VillageReach and hosted at the PATH Senegal Headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, in July.  12 attendees from Ministry of Health Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) programs plus WHO International representation attended this 3-day workshop on user-centered software design in Dakar. Participants came from Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, DRC, Guinea and Senegal.  The w...

This is the fourth topic in my six-part Vaccine Supply Chain Futures series (Please see the attached file for the full text)  focused on the introduction of a system of remote temperature monitoring integrated with equipment maintenance management. Remote temperature monitoring systems represent an opportunity for a system-wide improvement in the performance of equipment maintenance and consequently, more reliable vaccine distribution. Remote temperature monitoring automatically transmits data ...

Improving supply chain data visibility and data use are showing real impact in Tanzania's integrated logistics system. A study has just been published in the peer-reviewed journal Global Health: Science and Practice Global Health: Science and Practice Advance Access articles for September 6, 2017 Original Article Upgrading Supply Chain Management Systems to Improve Availability of Medicines in Tanzania: Evaluation of Performance and Cost Effects Marasi Mwencha, James E Rosen, Cary Spisak, No...

by Dr Blanche ANYA and Dr David BROWN During 21-24 February 2017, representatives from Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda gathered in Kampala, Uganda to rethink and improve their country’s current home-based record design and functionality as well as the broader system that supports the home-based record to address issues such as stock-outs described previously here. Participants not only walked away from the workshop with a new paper prototype of their improved home-based ...

Over the last decade, the technology environment in developing countries has changed significantly, offering new opportunities to strengthen and automate information systems throughout the health system. Health system supply chains in many countries are leveraging this changed environment, with digital solutions that support reporting at different levels of the supply chain. To complement the many excellent articles in Vaccine Journal's special issue on next generation immunization supply chains...

OpenLMIS is proud to announce the launch of OpenLMIS version 3, an open source logistics management information system (LMIS): http://openlmis.org/ The OpenLMIS community, representing a global consortium of partners including software developers, implementers and funders, collaborated on a full redesign of the OpenLMIS core software, reflecting a more flexible and responsive micro-service architecture. OpenLMIS provides an electronic solution for recording and reporting logistics information f...

As supply chain professionals working in the global health sector, we have heard countless requests and statements over the years to integrate data from HMIS and LMIS tools. This is partly to streamline reporting channels and to reduce the reporting burden, and partly to attempt to compare information between the two systems. Often this conversation is burdened by a lack of understanding about how the two data sets differ. As countries adopt electronic information systems to manage HMIS and...

Hello, I was recently introduced to this site. I am very interested in supply chain management and logistics of health commodities and was wondering if anyone knew of an online course (preferably free) I could take to enhance my knowledge? I'd appreciate suggestions. Thanks....

On any day, the Pharmaceuticals Fund and Supply Agency (PFSA) in Ethiopia manages the thousands of transactions (orders, receipts, issues, and transfers) which are the lifeblood of the public sector healthcare supply chain. To inform the supply decisions that drive these transactions—and to ensure that the right quantities of the right commodities are going to the right locations—the PFSA uses the Health Commodity Management Information system (HCMIS), a warehouse and logistics information manag...

Over the last two decades, increased investments in health have yieldedsignificant gains in health outcomesfor tens of millions of people around the world. At the same time, economic growth has raised hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty and helped fuel a vast expansion in information technology that has revolutionized the way people communicate. Inspired by the 20th anniversary of the first World Development Report to focus on health,the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health releasedG...

Greetings TechNet Community, I hope this message finds each of you well and successful in your work. I am the new OpenLMIS Community Manager working with the OpenLMIS Initiativeand Community to develop and share this functional and customizable eLMIS solution. Many of you may be familiar with the open source eLMIS system, OpenLMIS.Currently utilized in five geographies throughout Africa, OpenLMIS is acost-effective and widely customizable eLMIS solution built to address the data visibility cha...

The case for a ‘Common Logistics Operating Platform’ to serve District Management of Supply systems and Service delivery support. Question: Could an ‘Integrated Public Health Supply Chain Platform’ at district level replace the current, fragmented, inefficient and costly provision of separate supply systems for vaccines, medicines and supplies? The platform would assure that resources, such as transport would be shared rationally according to priorities set on a single, shared calendar. Man...

“You can’t vaccinate a child with a mobile phone.”Andrea Coleman, co-founder, Riders for Health Technology is all the rage in global health programs, from immunization and child survival to reproductive and maternal health, to malaria, HIV and TB programs. mHealth platforms proliferate, eHealth applications and acronyms abound: DHIS, eLMIS, HRIS, MRIS, EMR, MFR…OMG! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a technology champion and a bit of a geek, convinced that technology, applied correctly and judiciously, ...

A well-designed, well-operated supply chain that delivers health supplies to patients and clients who need them is critical to the success of any health system. With an electronic logistics management information system (eLMIS), logisticians can quickly access data they need to make informed decisions. In the new eLMIS Selection Guide, published by the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT, you can learn what it takes to be eLMIS ready. The guide also includes profiles of eLMIS applications implemented in Pak...

Recently, I was sitting with the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) Manager, his senior staff, and technical assistance (TA) partners in an African country, discussing support for better visibility and analysis of immunization supply chain data. The EPI Manager was willing to listen, but wasn’t sure his team needed help in data analysis. As for visibility, that was already being addressed: they using a web-based inventory management system that, among other things, providecold chain volume...

In the last decade, vaccine information management has slowly evolved from paper at every level in the health system, to Excel-based reports at higher levels (districts or above) that are emailed, to simple stand-alone databases with exported PDF reports, and most recently web forms that capture data and display essential dashboards online. Different countries are at different stages in this evolution, and most still rely on paper to capture data from health facilities and vaccination points. In...

“Apps” (computer software applications) are being developed and used as tools to help manage the vaccines and medicines supply chain more and more. But are they directed at challenges that have persisted the longest and would have the greatest impact if resolved? Take, for example, the following two challenges; do you recognise them? Do you agree that they need to be addressed or do you believe that they have been addressed in your country (ies) and that other should be chosen? Challenge 1: ...

TechNet 2015 Day 3 tackled Managing the System: Human Resources for Supply Chain Management and Data for Management. These two themes are closely linked.People are the sources of data, and people must also have the skills and capacity to use that data for management decisions. In well performing supply chains, the interdependence between people, processes, technology and infrastructure are essential, but people are at the center. They carry out the processes; they collect, enter, manage and anal...

A week before (on 28-05-2015) when a couple came with an immunization card developed in a tertiary care centre which created confusion as to what all vaccines thier child should receive made Sampaje team to evolve a user frindly immunization card. This card is evolved considering National Immunization Schedule of India, Karntaka specific, also keeping in mind the candidate vaccines anounced by the Govt (Rotavirus vaccine and Injectable Polio Vaccine one dose with third dose of OPV/Pentavalent) a...

Dear colleagues: The Alliance Data for Management (D4M) working group is developing a guidance package on immunisation supply chain dashboards that includes a menu of primary supply chain performance indicators for countries to select from that meet their needs. The indicators and dashboards are intended for managers at multiple levels of the immunization supply chain and provide visualisation examples and suggested corrective actions for each indicator. This guidance will be endorsed by the ...

Background: Complete and timely childhood immunization is one of the most cost-effective interventions in improving child survival in developing countries. Computerized HMIS has been recently introduced to collect aggregated data on service beneficiaries in Himachal Pradesh. HMIS provides coverage estimates for immunization while information on timeliness is currently not available. Hence we conducted a study to validate coverage and assess the timeliness of immunization in Kangra District of Hi...