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 informati...

In case it's of interest. Best Patrick...

PATH has been collaborating with Vietnam National EPI to pilot the Digital Immunization Registry in one district in a Southern province under Optimize Project since 2012. In 2014, this system was expanded in all 164 Commune Health Centers in that province. It can help to reduce workload burden, incr...

It's a mystery to me, considering that manual temperature monitoring of vaccine stores using monthly charts and glass thermometers was the first MIS achievement of the EPI in the last 4 years of the 1970s - yet the first Remote Temperature Monitoring (RTM) studies were 10 years ago and only a handfu...

Today is Innovation Day during World Immunization Week, and there are a lot of innovative ideas out there to reach every child. But innovation doesn’t always require radical new ideas. Sometimes it simply means challenging traditional approaches based on current information. For immunization supply ...

The function and importance of home-based records (HBRs) in immunization service delivery has been described and practical guidelines for HBR design released by the WHO (http://www.who.int/immunization/monitoring_surveillance/routine/homebasedrecords/en/). The annotated bibliography attached here at...

The final report of the “Briefing on WHO Tools and Guidance on Immunization Data Quality and Vaccination Coverage Survey” that took place in Istanbul in December 2015 is now available. The Executive summary is pasted below. Please feel free to share. Executive Summary From 1 to 4 December 2015, 6...

On receiving a few photos from the Canara Bank Manger, KVG Sullia branch this afternoon, I too got motivated to write a page and shared with local PHCs / Districts / State / centre / Development partners for further enhancement of 'civic'responsibility of civilians for better community participa...

The fabulous app "Immunization Summary" was updated with 2014 data and in the 6 WHO officials languages. The Immunization Summary is an app for visualizing (tables, graphs, maps) data on policies, activities and impact of national immunization systems. There's a just discovered bug, which is the co...

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 dat...

“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...

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 Immunizati...

A home-based vaccination record is a document (more often physical rather than electronic) --- issued by an official authority (may be sub-national or national) to an individual person and maintained in the household by an individual or individual’s caregiver (e.g., mother, father, grandparent, etc)...

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 e...

Many thanks to Mojtaba Haghgou for sharing this with our readers. The TechNet21 website will soon have a software depot from which you will be able to download VSSM and other latest software. Vaccination Supply Stock Management (VSSM) version 4.7, is a computer application, now used in the centra...

Current ownership of home-based records for recording vaccinations is far too low in many countries. One possible means towards motivating caregivers to retain home-based records through the first year of a child’s life and beyond is to link documentation of a child’s vaccination history to school e...

Among of the major problems for immunization services especially, the low resources countries remains to be inadequate availability of essential information for appropriate immunization decision making (based on the unavailability of essential information in a systematic, timely and in a defined per...

This posting is one of four, each discussing a different indicator. This post discusses vaccine utilisation efficiency. Another efficiency indicator measures the level of vaccine administered expressed as a percentage of the vaccine consumed (Doses ‘Consumed’ = ‘Doses ‘administered’ to clients + ‘D...

Home-base records constitute an inexpensive yet effective instrument for systematically documenting the immunization services received by an individual. A revitalized discussion of home-based records is taking place against the backdrop of a dynamic environment with new vaccine introductions that is...

This posting is one of four, each discussing a different indicator. This post discusses the availability of vaccine. Over 40% of countries reporting to the JRF in 2013 reported shortages of one or more vaccines for at least one month at central level. Disruption of supplies of this scale at central...

As some of view may know, Unicef WCARO is undertaking an inventory of LMIS uses for EPI. All levels of the supply chain will be assessed and the inventory will cover all kind of tools: systems, softwares, excel spreadsheets, stock cards, forms, etc. Immediate objectives of the landscape are to: I...

This is the first of a series of TechNet postings to assess alternative definitions of field-level indicator(s) matching each of the proposed monitoring objectives. For now and based on this posting, please let me know your feedback: Are any of these objectives NOT needed to monitor distribution?...

Cross-posted from the IAPHL forum with many thanks! Dear IAPHL members, Firstly, thanks to Victoria, Kamran, Gashaw, Wendy, and Prashant for providing their insights.They show the variety of value that GIS provides to logistics, I have categorized them into four different areas; OPERATIONAL/MONI...

On 11, 12 and 13 November, 95 representatives from diverse organizations and countries met in Istanbul to share experiences with the use of information technology to strengthen immunization programs. More than 30 systems, tools, projects, and country experiences were presented and discussed in 4 bre...

Pakistan Vaccine Logistics Management Information System (vLMIS) Release 2 went Live this week: vLMIS release 2 is a single web based integrated platform for reporting Routine Immunization, VSSM, CCEM2 and SDMS software. The portal has below modules with respective dashboards, reports, graphs, an...

cStock is a simple mHealth system that helps to ensure community health workers in Malawi have lifesaving products to treat children under five. cStock was originally piloted in 6 districts and 3 of these districts also implemented supporting teams. The greatest benefits were shown in districts wit...

Posted by: David Brown UNICEF / Marta Gacic Dobo WHO All too often overlooked, the home-based vaccination record maintains a central role in documenting immunization services received across the lifespan. WHO and UNICEF are working to heighten awareness of the importance of the home-based vaccinati...

Last week the TechNet moderator introduced a new moderated discussion on GAVI’s immunization supply chain strategy Data for management. This week we continue the discussion. As GAVI partners continue to develop a strategy for strengthening immunization supply chains, one of the areas we are thinkin...

An online version of the ICT Toolkit developed by project Optimize has been published on the TechNet-21.org website. http://ict.technet-21.org The original document, entitled Planning an information systems project: A toolkit for public health managers, is available as a PDF on the PATH and WHO we...

Dimagi is pleased to announce that it will support five organizations from various sectors in India and Nepal to explore the use of mobile technology for logistics and supply chain management in low-resource settings. Each organization will be supported to launch a proof of concept of CommTrack, an ...

by Jan Grevendonk, WHO Project Optimize has worked closely with national immunization programs throughout the world to demonstrate innovative solutions to supply chain challenges. Many of these demonstration projects have involved the use of information systems to help improve the performance of im...

by Sean Blaschke and Lilian Nabunnya, UNICEF On April 26, 2013, health workers at 3,240 health facilities in Uganda were sent the following short-message service (SMS) text message: Does your Health Unit have a cold chain fridge for vaccines? Please answer YES / NO. If you have a fridge but it is ...

VaxTrak in Vietnam VaxTrak helps health workers keep track of vaccine stock. In 2011, the Vietnamese National Expanded Programme on Immunization introduced VaxTrak in the provinces of Phu Tho, Quang Tri, and Ben Tre. This short video shows how VaxTrak works and examines the impact it has had. [you...

This is a report based on a brief survey on the use of computerized LMIS in public health supply chains conducted on the International Association of Public Health Logisticians (IAPHL) forum. Dear Colleagues, I propose to your attention a brief survey report on the use of computerized LMIS in ...

The Quarter 4, 2012 issue of the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) Newsletter focuses on a number of promising mobile supply chain interventions, which are quickly becoming a preferred approach to data collection, tracking, and reporting. Mobile systems such as ILSGateway in Ta...

by Dao Ding Sang and Vu Minh Huong, PATH Over the last three years, Optimize has been working with Vietnam’s National Expanded Programme on Immunization (NEPI) to pilot a new computerized logistics management information system. The new system, named VaxTrak, is designed to help immunization health...

by Ryan McWhorter, Logistimo, and Dan Brigden, PATH To accompany the article “South Sudan deploys new mobile phone-based stock management tool” in this month’s newsletter, project Optimize has published a photo set on Flickr that reveals how the new logistics management information system created b...

by Nguyen Van Cuong, NEPI, and Vu Minh Huong, PATH Earlier this year, Vietnam’s National Expanded Programme on Immunization (NEPI) conducted an Effective Vaccine Management (EVM) assessment to evaluate the country’s immunization logistics systems. The results reveal that key improvements have been ...

by Morris Gargar, Consultant; Elly Tumwine, UNICEF; and Ryan McWhorter, Logistimo The Government of the Republic of South Sudan is working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and project Optimize to test a cloud-based logistics management information system (LMIS) that uses mobile phon...

by Dr. Joyce Charo, DVI, Kenya and Dr. Anthony Ngatia, CHAI A web-based stock management tool has just been deployed in five regional stores across Kenya. The goal is to ensure the availability of vaccines by reducing stockouts and improving vaccine program performance. Dr. Joyce Charo from the Div...

To accompany the article “Online immunization registry transforms the work of health staff in Albania” in this month’s newsletter, project Optimize has publishedhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/projectoptimize/sets/72157630314080396/" target="_blank"> a photo set on Flickr that reveals...

An interview with Silvia Bino, Albania Institute of Public Health The Institute of Public Health in Albania recently developed an online immunization registry to replace their existing paper-based system. In May 2011, the new system—named IIS—was piloted in Shkoder district. One year later, Op.ti.m...

by Dr. Nguyen Van Cuong, NEPI and Joanie Robertson, PATH Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology is collaborating with project Optimize to demonstrate the benefits of a computerized immunization registry. In January 2012, a new computerized immunization registry was piloted by Viet...

Many thanks to Mojtaba Haghgou for suggesting that this summary be posted here. Cross-posted from the PAHO Immunization Newsletter, December 2011. In January 2010, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) began piloting a software to manage and control vaccines, syringes and other supply inven...

by Mojtaba Haghgou, consultant, and Ramzi Ouichi, WHO A web-based version of the Vaccination Supply Stock Management (VSSM) tool has been successfully deployed in Iran. Now, project Optimize is collaborating with the Tunisian Ministry of Health to field-test wVSSM in Tunisia. VSSM is an open...

by Ruth Simmons, ExpandNet Secretariat; Peter Fajans, RHR/WHO and ExpandNet Secretariat; and Suzanne Reier RHR/WHO and ExpandNet Over the next 12 months, project Optimize will be collecting final data from its demonstration projects and transitioning management of these projects to government pa...

by Osman Mansoor and Kate Bai, UNICEF; Andrew Garnett, Consultant; and Solo Kone, WHO In December 2011, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) hosted a workshop in New York for the Cold Chain and Logistics (CCL) Taskforce. The main focus of the workshop was to review the Effective Vaccine Man...

An interesting article from pharma-iq.com on RFID and real time monitoring to deliver temperature sensitive drugs. Comments? http://www.pharma-iq.com/cold-chain/articles/cold-chain-logistics-in-healthcare-a-modern-altern/&mac=PharmaIQ_OI_Featured_2011&utm_source=pharma-iq.com&utm_medium=email&utm_ca...

Cross posted from the 'Global Immunization News' with thanks. Claudio Politi and Daniela Urfer, WHO/HQ The Immunization Financing Database has been updated with cMYPs recently developed by countries and submitted to GAVI in June 2011 for funding proposals to introduce new vaccines. The database con...

The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) has been developed to estimate the impact of health interventions and can consider multiple interventions simultaneously. This new computer-based tool allows users to set up and run multiple scenarios to look at the estimated impact of different intervention packages and ...

by Erida Nelaj, Albania Institute for Public Health and Jan Grevendonk, PATH In May 2011, the Albanian Institute for Public Health (IPH) launched a new web-based immunization registry and vaccine ordering system in the district of Skodra. Based on the acceptability and success of the system in Skod...

by Jan Grevendonk and Elaine Griffith, PATH and Anup Akkihal, Logistimo One of the perennial struggles in any supply chain is to deliver the right amount of product to the right place at the right time. This is especially true for essential medicines and temperature-sensitive products like vaccin...

by Leah Hasselback, VillageReach and Jan Grevendonk, PATH As more and more countries consider the move from paper-based systems to electronic health information systems, there is a pressing need for global coordination and collaboration among efforts. This is particularly true in the emerging and f...

by David Lubinski, PATH; Wendy Bomett-Dodie, USAID | Deliver; and Chipopa Kazuma, Medical Stores Limited, Zambia In February 2011, Zambia’s Ministry of Health invited partners involved in supply chain management to help them develop a shared vision, roadmap, and user requirements for a logistics ma...

The impact of financial and organizational logistics actions on health programs remain a major challenge for managers of health. Indeed, the logistics as essential support to build and complete a program of health must be optimized in terms of cost and efficiency for implementation of quality health...