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A GLOBAL GOOD FOR UHC AND USP
openIMIS
is the first open source software that
supports
the
management
of
social
(health)
protection schemes. It links beneficiary, provider
and payer data. It is a powerful tool to strengthen
strategic purchasing of health services and digital
processing of health system data.
SETTING
More and more countries are moving towards both
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Universal
Social Protection (USP) for their populations.
Given the many stakeholders involved in health care
and their interactions, health care systems are
extremely complex, resulting in large amounts of
data.
This complexity and density of information makes it
challenging to design, manage and adjust system
processes.
Information
and
Communications
Technology (ICT) have been extremely helpful in
supporting these tasks. However, in the health
sector, many ICT solutions have been developed in
isolation, piloted and not scaled up.
Software solutions are often piloted within narrow
geographical
boundaries
or
address
selected
processes.
As
a
result,
many
countries
face
challenges when trying to integrate and scale up
these solutions to the wider contexts required for
UHC. The lack of compatible formats and interfaces
among ICT tools, or interoperability, inhibits the
coherent and comprehensive flow of data and
information, creating highly fragmented national
eHealth systems.
THE ORIGINS OF openIMIS
With
support
from
the
Swiss
Agency
for
Development Cooperation (SDC) in 2012, the Swiss
Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH),
Microinsurance Academy and Exact Software
developed an Insurance Management Information
System (IMIS) to operate community health funds
(CHF) in several districts of Tanzania.
In 2014, a mutual health insurance scheme in
Cameroon adapted the software. Since 2015, the
German Development Cooperation (GDC) has been
providing assistance to customize IMIS for Nepal’s
national health insurance scheme.
The
software
has
grown organically
and
has
demonstrated potential for easy adaptation to
different types of health financing mechanisms
needed for UHC.
In 2016, GDC and SDC invested jointly to make IMIS
an open source application. The openIMIS source
code is publicly available since 2018.
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openIMIS is …
free to download, customize and
use. It is a global good.
adaptable, modular by design,
compatible with different schemes
and country needs.
interoperable with various formats
and interfaces for data exchange
(international standard protocols and
codes).
Sustainable, driven by the openIMIS
community and supported by the
global openIMIS Initiative.
The openIMIS Initiative promotes global
exchange and links global and local
communities to the benefit of one another.