Comments on: On lighting strikes… http://blog.anokwa.com/?p=17 all lowercase, all the time. Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:19:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.4 By: Yaw http://blog.anokwa.com/?p=17&cpage=1#comment-23 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 22:24:57 +0000 http://blog.anokwa.com/?p=17#comment-23 Even between the folks from Kigali (some of whom rock Nokia phones, iPods, laptops, etc) and the folks from Rwinkwavu there is a huge difference in the technology. I think this a classic rural and urban gap and so can even see it in the states. Of course, the gap out here is quite astonishing. You can live the American lifestyle in Kigali, but in Rwinkwavu, you are clearly in the developing world.

The dirty water bed is misleading. Rwinkwavu Hospital is pretty advanced. We can do surgery and chemo in addition to HIV, malaria and TB. Everything is clean, the grounds are immaculate and at the end of the day, people get better. It’s not just the medicine, but it’s the whole model. PIH provides accompagnateurs that go every morning to patient homes and hand out medications to chronically ill. Patients who are very poor get food and adequate shelter. Importantly, no one is turned away. It’s all free — and it should be. The technology is there to ensure that we do all we can to make lives a little better (medically and otherwise).

In response to the database questions, you can look at http://openmrs.org for details. Everything that is relevant to care for the patient is stored in a database. Chronic care requires a detailed history of the patient and so we do our best to support that kind of care. I think when it comes to medical problems, everyone expects some privacy so we support that as well in the software and policies.

OpenMRS is an open source project and its funding comes (directly and indirectly) from a lot of expected places (Rwanda, Clinton Foundation, Gates Foundation, IUPUI/Regenstrief, PIH, etc). I believe the hospital (and its technology) is funded by similar sources.

]]> By: Bob W http://blog.anokwa.com/?p=17&cpage=1#comment-16 Sat, 07 Jul 2007 22:47:26 +0000 http://blog.anokwa.com/?p=17#comment-16 My, my…that sounds like an adventure. It’s a good thing no one was standing by that power switch…! The city you’re in seems more technically advanced than I would have imagined. Also, there’s a sort of ironical contrast between the technology that the you and the doctors are using, and the images of the children drinking and shuttling water from the dirty water bed.

It’s curious how the doctors and patients actually interact with the technology. Is there a patient database; if there is, what type of information does it contain? i.e., Is there a detailed medical history for patients that are treated in the hospital? If the man with the injured mouth has another injury that requires medical attention, will the doctors have a medical history for him that they can use to treat the future injury? Also, like in America or Western countries, is there a expectation of privacy? i.e., HIPPA laws (Wikipedia: HIPPA). Is patient information kept confidential….There’s lots of interesting questions one could ask about your experience. Lastly, for me, is, how this technology is funded?

In any event, it does sound like an adventure. And, it will be interesting to see what type of changes you can help implement. Once again, stay safe.

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