Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Data Modernization Initiative
The Track Three MPI team running Jaro and Jaro-Wrinkler probabilistic matching algorithms. Photo by Daniel Ng'andu
Funder: Jembi (financed by CDC)
Implementing Partners: Jembi, UCSF, PATH
Project Period: Apr 2023 – Sep 2024
Country: Zambia
The ultimate goal of CDC Data Modernization Initiative (DMIS) is to get better, faster, actionable insights for decision-making at all levels of public health. The vision is to create one public health community that can engage robustly with healthcare, communicate meaningfully with the public, improve health equity, and have the means to protect and promote health.
In Zambia, DMI is prioritizing data integration, workforce capacity strengthening, and data standardization strategies, focusing on three priority areas in this context: Introducing a health informatics curriculum, developing executive dashboards to facilitate evidence-based decision support in the health sector, and strengthening the Health Information Exchange architecture to enable data exchange through IT shared services. These priority areas were identified in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health and key stakeholders in-country.
Compelling Works is rendering project management and stakeholder coordination services to this initiative. Sub-contracted by Jembi, we are supporting IT Shared Services, while ensuring cross-collaboration and synergies with key actors supporting other priority areas.
Objectives:
We are working with the Ministry of Health and key implementing partners on the ground to strengthen the Enterprise Architecture with a focus on establishing foundational components necessary for the shareable health record. This involves strengthening unique patient identification, streamlining the role of the API Gateway, and standardizing the exchange of health data with the help of the Fast Health Interoperable Resource (FHIR) as a standard.
Key Activities
We use a participatory approach, building capacity and competence, transferring knowledge, and ensuring a sustainable and owned approach to project implementation, that will allow for continuity post-project period.
Key activities include stakeholder engagement to build consensus, technical design sessions to establish product requirements, health facility visits to understand workflows using a user-centered design approach, alternative analysis of possible technologies to use, and the development of architectural concepts and designs for recommended solutions.
Results/Impact (Achieved /anticipated)
Client Registry design and architecture document developed.
Fast Health Interoperable Resource (FHIR) introduced in the HIE landscape.
The role of the API-Gateway in enabling the shareable health record enhanced.
In-country capacity build to maintain and improve solutions in place.
Resource
