OpenHIE Partner: Vital Wave

Capabilities

 Vital Wave provides a range of services to its clients to design and scale digital technology in low-resource environments, including: 

• Field research and strategic needs assessment
• Strategy creation and implementation planning
• Software requirements development
• Digital solutions landscape analysis and support for client selection of fit-for-purpose digital solutions
• Technology vendor and product management
• Customization of OSS solutions
• Data dictionary development and supporting adoption of data standards ○ Data mapping and system integration
• Implementation planning and management
• Training and capacity building (including on software maintenance)

Additionally, Vital Wave also convenes global stakeholders and facilitates new collaborations, organizations, and global guidelines, through: 

• Value chain analyses
• Strategic facilitated convenings
• Global and regional community management
• Policy guidelines development

Vital Wave in OpenHIE & the Digital Health Community

Skill Sets to be Contributed to the OpenHIE Initiative

Vital Wave will:

• Continue to provide input into the evolution of OpenHIE architecture and reference technologies, based on its experience supporting their implementation in its client countries, to help ensure that the architecture and technologies are fit-for-purpose, and are able to be maintained locally
• Continue to advocate for and support the use of OpenHIE architecture and appropriate reference technologies in its technical assistance to national governments, when appropriate
• Continue to train and support designated technical staff within national governments on OpenHIE concepts, applicable data standards, and implementation methodologies

Desired Role of within the OpenHIE Community

• Vital Wave wishes to continue its role on the OpenHIE Leadership Committee (a role held since late 2016) as an active leader and advocate for the community, as well as its engagement with additional OpenHIE subcommunities (e.g., FR, CR, TS, OHIN) to align with the firms active support to national implementation projects
• Vital Wave also wishes to continue its role as an ambassador for the community, making relevant connections to OpenHIE for prospective members and helping explain the vision and resources that OpenHIE makes available

Examples of Historic Contributions to the OpenHIE Community and Active Contributions

Vital Wave has:

• Been an active member of the leadership committee for nearly four years and has helped bring perspectives from specific projects to bear on the vision and guiding materials shared within the OpenHIE community
• Conducted national health information system and interoperability assessments to provide strategic, actionable, and costed recommendations for implementation of specific OpenHIE component systems, and supported the implementation and enhancement of OpenHIE component systems in over a dozen countries
• Supported the design of the East Africa Community’s regional vision for digital health, including the design and planning for implementation of several regional digital solutions to support regional health information exchange in alignment with the OpenHIE approach
• Provided in-depth technical trainings on OpenHIE architecture, reference technologies, and data standards to national government staff and implementing partners to support local implementations
• Presented on digital health system architectures (existing and planned) modelled on the OpenHIE approach at digital health events and webinars to help share lessons learned and present a pathway to prospective implementers
• Contributed directly to the enhancement of several OpenHIE reference technologies including DHIS2, Open Concept Lab, and Resource Map

Vital Wave is Also:

• Actively supporting the development and enhancement of new technologies being implemented in specific countries to ensure their adherence to OpenHIE standards, include for client registries and facility registries

Contributions to the digital health community such as global goods, country leadership, etc.

Vital Wave:

• Helped facilitate the design and endorsement of the Principle for Investment in Digital Health (Donor Alignment Principles)
• Leads the Digital Solutions for Malaria Elimination (DSME) Community, a community similarly based on principles of openness and knowledge sharing to product interoperable digital solutions that can be implemented across a variety of low-resource settings, through which new global goods for malaria elimination programs have been produced