Guatemala

Analyze Business Processes Before Automating Them: An iHRIS Manage Case Study

Carol Bales — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:30:41 +0000

This post was originally published on the iHRIS blog. CapacityPlus develops the core iHRIS software for managing and planning the health workforce. Over 15 countries are using iHRIS; Guatemala is one of the newest countries to implement the software. Marino Holguin is a consultant for the IntraHealth International-led USAID|Central America Capacity Project.

Over the years, automation of business processes has become more and more common. More often than not, organizations dive into automation hoping that, by itself, it will improve performance, reduce costs, and ensure quality. While those are attainable goals, they are rarely achieved. The reason for this lack of results is often related to a single painful issue: automating inefficient, outdated processes produces automated inefficiency.

Many process automation efforts are driven by information technology personnel who simply are not familiar with business needs and their history. This is particularly true for developing countries’ governmental institutions, which oversee processes that were originally based on paper forms and are often plagued by numerous controls and validations.

Author's name:

Marino Holguin

Publication Date:

May 2013

A Guatemalan Nurse Works for Better Staff Performance—and Better Services for Patients

Carol Bales — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:45:35 +0000

This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog. With funding from USAID’s LAC Bureau, CapacityPlus also provides technical assistance to strengthen the health workforce in HIV commodities security in countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

“I like providing support and care to patients,” says Rosa Lara de Forela, the subdirector of nursing at the Pedro de Bethancourt National Hospital in beautiful Antigua, Guatemala. “The most satisfying thing I’ve found in my profession is giving direct attention to each of the patients that I encounter in the different departments of the hospital. I like to serve mankind. That’s my passion.”

Author's name:

Anne Fitzgerald

Publication Date:

April 2013

Security Briefs: Experts from Latin America and the Caribbean Gather to Address HIV/AIDS Commodities

Carol Bales — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:34:04 +0000

Headlines making waves across the United States recently featured the severity of this year’s flu virus. Record numbers of cases are reported for the particularly severe strain of influenza. Health experts are urging everyone to get their flu shot if they have not already. Absent are headlines suggesting a vaccine shortage.

Though we may take for granted access to vaccines protecting us from the flu and other viruses, in many parts of the world access to vaccinations, antibiotics, and HIV/AIDS and family planning commodities is limited. Restrictive financing, stockouts, untrained supply chain managers, logistics hardships, fragile infrastructure, weak health systems, and a host of other challenges threaten commodity security in many countries.

Author's name:

Amanda Puckett

Publication Date:

January 2013