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I support all of my friends’ discussions from Myanmar, these all reflect the current situation happening in the country regarding to health informatics workforce.
In my view, the integration of health science and IT, particularly in the area of health informatics, is in its nascent stages in the country. Only a few numbers of well-established private hospitals have begun implementing Electronic Medical Records (EMRs), and the majority of healthcare centers, both public and private, lack dedicated positions for health informatics. Previously, international NGOs have supported the Ministry of Health’s information systems, primarily in public health initiatives, and also some organizations started these efforts in their community healthcare projects separately.
As I can catch up around, these workforces came mainly from medical graduates with personal interests in IT or individuals who have pursued health informatics education abroad, but these are very few numbers.
I think the main challenge is most people including those from the healthcare industry aren’t aware of the importance of health informatics. Advocacy efforts aimed at policymakers are crucial for garnering support and recognition for these initiatives within the industry and community. Moreover, there are challenges in fostering collaboration among experts from various organizations and departments to facilitate patient-centered care in the country. Infrastructure needs, including high implementation costs, a shortage of trained personnel, lack of interoperability standards, limited internet accessibility, and inadequate data privacy and security policies, pose additional hurdles for this workforce.