OpenLMIS & PATH Oxygen- DRC

Date: Sept 8, 2020

Objective: PATH has contract to manage oxygen supplies for COVID response and are considering using OpenLMIS COVID tool as a way to manage the inventory/track equiptment. Goal for today’s call is to sync up disparate conversations about this collaboration in the DRC and decide on next steps for if/how to work together

Purpose of this call: We are convening this meeting to discuss how OpenLMIS COVID Edition can support PATH’s oxygen needs in the DRC, and ensure all stakeholders align on an approach for moving forward.

Call participants:

• VillageReach (global): Wes, Brandon, Christine, Josh, Sierra

• VillageReach (DRC): Freddy

• CHAI (global): Gaurav, Satish

• CHAI (DRC): Edna

• PATH (global): Brian T, Alex Rothkopf, Zachary Clemence

• PATH (DRC): Trad Hatton, Garyn De Bondt

• Hannah Erdy

• Javaris Edgecombe

• Call facilitators: @Wesley Brown @Satish Choudhury

Notes:

Trad: PATH has been working with MOH DRC since 2017 on coordinating/promoting digital health in DRC. It officially was signed into being in Jan 2020 so is a newer entity taking baby steps towards full capacity. DRC is receiving a bulk order of ventilators any day now, and we want to make sure they are deployed, maintained, and serviced properly from the start. MOH is currently mapping out where to send them. They don’t currently have a tool for managing medical equipment. OpenLMIS was thought of for helping here. OpenLMIS doesn’t necessarily have an asset-management function, but likely the capability, and already has the commodity-piece covered.

Zach: As part of the scope of the current grant we are working on, we want to track/manage the devices. It’s a small number of facilities, but can be an opportunity to map things out and see how a nation-wide distribution could be supported as well. We are also hoping that other types of devices will be added, that could also use the tracking and management pieces.

Olivier: Would like to understand why OpenLMIS is being considered here… Should we consider a dedicated asset-management solution and use OpenLMIS as complimentary only? Understand that this is an ‘emergency-mode’ decision but want to make sure we do this well.

Wes: Good points. What are the features we require for OpenLMIS from the asset-management perspective

Trad: We are still grappling with the question of how best all these pieces can fit together. We see that OLMIS doesn’t have asset management as a core function, but we see that it has larger uses that are complimentary and can make sense. It might not be that it is a standalone solution, but

Wes: Correct that OLMIS is not an asset management system. But it does have equipment tracking features that can be provided. In the next year we will continue to move down the path that makes it ‘asset-management-y’, but will never full meet all the needs of an AM system, but certainly a priority is that it can very effectively interoperate with one. What we can do in the near future is build enough features to cover what is needed for the ventilation project on an emergency basis, with future interoperability in mind.

Gaurav: The objective of using OpenLMIS for asset management is only to support these short term/ emergency needs. Long term, the MOH needs to evaluate if OpenLMIS fits their needs for this. If possible, I’d like to pivot to a larger conversation on where OLMIS is now….. We have received approval from the COVID task force (INRB) in DRC for stock management for COVID commodities. We’ve had conversations with the HMIS department on the best way forward. They are using a dashboard called InfoMed that pulls data from DHIS2 to display charts/graphs/tables for LMIS data points, used to understand health commodity levels and trigger replenishments. The PNAM (labs branch of INRB) has really bought into this and thinks it’s really valuable, so we are in discussions with all of them and Chemonics to see how OLMIS fits into the ecosystem. Believes it can be the on-the-ground solution for supply chain processes that can complete the loops and interoperate across the board. Ability to use OLMIS for asset management is contingent on implementation of OLMIS for COVID.

Trad: We’re tightly wound up in the COVID response, and glad to hear about INRB support. DHA will eventually play the role of managing technical interventions, but not quite there yet. PATH would like to continue to connect the dots and help DEGOG formulate requirements for the oxygen/ventilators piece. We could start by showing them OpenLMIS demos to begin to move this conversation forward more.

Gaurav: How else can we help move this conversation forward?

Alex: Is the equipment tracking piece in the COVID-19 deployment included in the negotations/discussions with DRC so far? Does this meet their needs or are they looking for more features?

Gaurav: OLMIS-COVID does include the tracking of commodities pieces… Edna: They’ve also shown interest in tracking PPE and other consumables, defniitely. The larger equipment pieces have not been a center of the discussions but bet they would be interested. “The more the merrier”

Trad: Can have a get-together with stakeholders and share these ideas and help tie them together.

Wes: Am in the same time-zone can certainly help with doing a live-demo.

Gaurav: RE the demo, we had originally thought a pre-recorded demo would be better and then we could be on standby for questions. Would that be preferable due to possible connectivity issues, or would a live demo be more compelling?

Trad: Really solid wifi in PATH office. Will bring stakeholders here and then can do a live demo.

Gaurav: Nobel can do the Cameroon demo in French, and Wes can standby for questions and support.

Next steps