Improved Resource Utilization Decisions through Strengthened and Sustainable Management Information Systems James (Kip) Eckroad BS, MS, MBA TASC2 Project - Eritrea

Three Intermediate Result Areas IR1: Active Demand for Primary Health Care Expanded IR2: Quality of Priority Primary Health Services Improved IR3: Institutional Capacity for Resource Allocation Decisions Improved

IR3 Strategies Develop and strengthen health management information systems Strengthen the management systems, practices and procedures Develop and improve capacity for decision making Continued support for decentralization and hospital autonomy

MIS Assessment: Initial Findings MIS function and responsibility dispersed throughout the Ministry of Health All systems highly dependent on outside assistance for modification or maintenance Most systems in MS Access database but programmed in Visual Basics Significant unmet need for improvement of existing or development of new systems

Recommended Improvements in System Development Priority given to sustainability through independence from outside sources Sustainability and independence directly related to the degree of openness and access Standardization important for integration and sharing of data; as well as for building an internal body of knowledge for supporting the systems

Information Systems Design Based on Sound Database Theory Database design based on relational database theory Follow the three levels of normalization This greatly facilitates growth and expansion, additional attributes and new entities Try to identify the single most important table and build around it

An Open Access Approach Maximum use of Access wizards, tools and especially the query capabilities Menu structure based on Switchboard Manager, common user interface Reliance on forms for data entry and editing Standardization of nomenclature for tables, forms and queries The incremental approach to information systems development

Implementation of the Approach Development of 3 new systems in key resource area: drug logistics, personnel management and donor financing Implementation and capacity building for the new information systems Capacity building focus on continuous learning models: mentoring and formative supervision

Principal Challenges Importance of documented specifications as form of communication with client Direction, coordination and integration among the various MOH information systems

Invoice Editing and Posting Form