E-health takes root as nurses adapt online registration

The health sector is looking to tighten training of workers as way of entrenching professionalism and quality of service.

On Thursday, the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Examination Board (UNMEB) unveiled the online student registration system (OSRS) with a target of minimizing excess and multiple enrolment and registration, cost savings for training institutions and closer monitoring of training institutions.

Dr. Vincent Okecho, USAID head of programme noted that the health sector still carries the burden of a negative tag of "bad performers," yet Uganda's health workers are some of the best in the world despite the sector facing several challenges among them low staff remuneration.

 "We need to strengthen the gate through which health workers pass before they go into service delivery, we don't want people who pass with distinction but cannot make diagnosis," noted Dr Okecho.

He narrated a story how a patient moved from Mulago to a private hospital and he was asked to come after two days.

"When he returned, it was the same consultant at Mulago who came and treated him but now at a higher price at the private clinic," noted Okecho.

He asked health training institutions not to enroll beyond capacity because it affects the quality of training.

There are currently about 140 health training institutions of which only 40 are government owned. But because of an outcry on the general quality of professional, the associations feel there is a general need to regulate training, assessment and exams.

With separate support from funders like USAID, the online project in part forms part of the larger government e-government scheme under the national backbone infrastructure system that should have every town connected to an internet cable.

This would in turn make it easier for health institutions even in rural areas like DAF School of nursing and midwifery in Kole district in Lango sub-region to go electronic and provide e-health services through producing quality health professionals.

Robert Asiimwe from DAF school praised the project saying it would drastically cut costs of having to travel to Kampala often. DAF is a few years old but is one of the best performers institutions currently despite its rural location.

The OSRS was developed with support from USAID project of strengthening human resource for health systems.

It will ensure that unverified students do not do double registration thus eliminating those whose records have been found having gaps.

Principals of training institutions were taken through the process of undertaking the registration and issued with secret codes.

For health institutions using the OSRS, the accounting officers or principals shall be in-charge of the codes.

They were asked to be sure about the total number of students they want to register before they log on because after registration, they "will not change the number of students."

Closing the conference, Tarsis Kabwegere, minister for general duties thanked the hall full of midwives and nurses at Ridar Hotel in Seeta for their dedication saying they are true deliverers of service.

"Efforts of people like you have helped push life expectancy up," noted Kabwegere.