Planning Ict for Health Department Plan

Planning ICT for Health Department

Plan

Introduction

Planning Frameworks

Health Department Planning

Governance and Reporting

Infrastructure

Applications

Operations

Compliance

Teams

Conclusion

Planning ICT for Health Department

Planning is very important for any organisation and same is applicable for ICT Department in Health. The plan highlights all the important aspects of ICT Managements. The traditional support rendered from ICT have enhanced now to achieve more at a corporate level (Renken, 2004, p.1). The benefits are also discussed at the end of this script.

There are various planning frameworks available. The approach is to use Toolsets or frameworks for aligning ICT to the strategic business needs while the results from the framework can be revised (Cronholm, 2010, p.60). The major ones include WHO1 Framework and ITIL2 Framework. These frameworks irons out the boundary that ICT should be working around. It also creates a standard working environment which further assists in executing any projects.  

“Experience shows that harnessing ICT for health requires strategic and integrated action at the national level, to make the best use of existing capacity while providing a solid foundation for investment and innovation.” (National eHealth Strategy Toolkit, WHO, 2012, p.1). The plan becomes a presentable document whereby the stakeholders can add more ideas and funding to support the framework or the toolsets.

The Health Department planning structure starts with Vision and Mission for the Department. From this the Strategic Planning is done which is for 5 years. From the priority areas, the department than creates its 1 year plan that is called “Business Plan”. The activities at implementation level is done by individual unit’s business plan. The eHealth Department have than prepared a framework of the planning that includes Governance and Reporting, Infrastructure, Applications, Operations and Compliance.

Governance includes the policy, human resources and financial management. This ensures that all the aspects of implementation are covered. The Reporting area covers all the items that eHealth Department reports to. This include various committees, Senior Management, Government IT and Finance Department.  

Infrastructure defines the Server Center, Data Communications, Voice Communications, and other Infrastructure Projects. The Server Center looks at all the hardware and the availability of server hardware. This is also a major node for Business Continuity in Health Department. Data Communication includes Structured Cablings, Wi-Fi Setups, Analysis, etc. Voice Communications includes VOIP3, Telephony and Radio Communications. The network projects include the upgrades and other aspects that is not covered in the other 3 areas.

All the software’s fall under Applications category. The eHealth and mHealth also is part of this category. Other applications that are mostly important in the Health Department are: Patient Management Systems, Lab Management Systems, Public Health Management Systems, Research Management Systems, Financial Management Systems, Warehouse Management Systems, and many other applications. This include the database, application and the user end of the software.

Apart from the project related areas discussed above, it’s important to note that the eHealth Department also carries out its day to day business. Some of the areas are Service Desk Management, Client Support Projects, Client Hardware and Software Support, etc. The operation is the division that is implemented with Incident Management, Service Desk Management, Change Management and face the client.

To ensure that all the areas are functioning well, Compliance planning becomes important. Monitoring & Evaluation which is part of compliance covers Network, Applications, Staff Performance, Service Desk and External Feedback. Publishing Research papers from ICT Unit is also part of the delivery. The paper is meant to share the challengers, new implementations and innovations in the Health Department. Document Management is a large area that covers Inventory, Network, Server, Disaster Recovery, Contracts, Applications, Standard Operating Procedures, Data & Information Flow Diagrams, and many other documentations that does not only assist the unit but also sets a standard. Quality Management also is categorized under the Compliance category.