Partners In Health (PIH)
ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE
Partners in Health (PIH) is a non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, whose mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. Through service delivery, training, advocacy and research, PIH works globally to bring the benefits of modern science to those most in need and to serve as an antidote to despair. PIH has programs in Haiti, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kazakhstan
and Boston. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world.
PIH began working in Malawi in 2007, where today we support the Ministry of Health (MOH) to serve a catchment area of 165,000 through 12 health centers and two hospitals in partnership with our sister organizations.
Partners in Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (PIH/APZU) has its headquarters in Neno District with operations across the country.
We therefore seek to recruit suitably qualified and experienced candidates for the following positions:
Position: Medical Informatics Data Technician
Reports to: Medical Informatics Officer
Commitment: Full Time (Monday-Friday)
Working Hours: Regular Office Hours (40Hrs/Week)
Location: Ligowe Health Centre (Upper Neno)
Position Overview
The Medical Informatics Data Technician undertakes activities associated with electronic medical records (EMR) and may be required to take ownership of all EMR activities related to a selected program (such as the Integrated Chronic Care Clinic) and a health facility.
Responsibilities
include data entry in OpenMRS and/or similar medical databases, data cleaning using electronic reports and comparisons with paper records, and data quality exercises. As such, the Data Technician ensures the completeness and accuracy of the data entered by him/her. He/She may also be required to export data from the EMR and/or generate reports from the EMR.
Responsibilities and Duties
- Oversee that patients smoothly navigate the health center through their continuum of care, with a specific focus on patients with chronic diseases such as HIV, TB, malnutrition, and non- communicable diseases (NCDs).
- Support and assist with data collection and quality; link various systems together in the care of the patients such as the clinical, environmental / HSA, Community Health Worker (CHW), and other teams.
- Electronic and paper data management including; Data entry, Data extraction and Reporting.
- Supporting the M&E and HMIS teams with report compilation and trainings for facility data
General
- Work in close partnership and collaboration with MOH and PIH staff at the health center including nursing, clinical, HSAs, CHW, POSER, and IC3 staff
- Treat all patients, CHWs, other clerks, and other health care workers with dignity and respect
- Help implementation of Neno District innovative projects and protocols such as the household model, Integrated Chronic Care Clinic (IC3), etc.
- Data entry of chronic care patients into the OpenMRS EMR
- Support implementation of Point of Care application for NCD screening
- Producing reports and sharing with the IC3 teams including; appointment report, TRACE report and others as instructed
Help implementation of Neno District innovative projects and - Maintaining the highest quality of EMR data through data cleaning and doing high frequency checks and comparisons between what is captured on paper and EMR
Integrated Chronic Care Clinic (IC3) - Work with the IC3 team, help manage files and data for IC3 patients, including transferring files to different facilities, ensuring files are well organized and complete, and data reporting
- Support IC3 clinics with stuff including but not limited to organizing patient files and flow; patient screening and referrals (nutrition, BP, HIV, TB, temperature, etc); liaising with nutrition and other clinical teams; and entering data in the EMR (i.e. on IC3 days at the respective health center)
- Assist with patient education, health talks, and patient counseling
- Serve as a key link between IC3 patients and the CHWs
- Support enrollment and registration of new patients or linkage to care and file management for known IC3 patients with emergencies or other needs on a non-IC3 day. This includes making sure all patients are registered and have a unique medical record number, and all forms are properly filled out (ART, EID, NCD, etc) on non-
IC3 days at the respective health center. - Help facilitate referrals from SHARF, SHARC, and other referral sources to IC3
- Support default tracking mechanism for IC3 (TRACE) where needed
- Support data needs and other tasks for the Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) program
- Work with HIV program staff, ensure accurate and complete implementation of all viral load processes and documentation Medical Informatics
- Undertake data entry into any electronic databases, such as OpenMRS EMR or DHIS2
- Routinely perform quality checks after data entry
- Mentor MOH and PIH staff members on best practices of data collection and use
- Identify and report problems with data entry and quality to his/her supervisor
- Check for inconsistencies between electronic data and paper records, and takes responsiblitiy for making improvements in consultation with M&E, informatics, and clinical leadership
- Understand, report and document data / information flows in order to implement systems to improve data quality
- Ensure timely, complete, accurate and of high-quality data across Neno District
- Export data from the EMR or other databases and generate reports and data dashboards
- Assist with patient, provider and / or community member interviews and focus group discussions
- Any other task relevant to the M&E team as requested by the supervisor
Required Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelors Degree in IT, computing or related subject Technical Competencies
- Strong computer skills are required, including proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word and PowerPoint)
- Demonstrated understanding of basic data manipulation using tools such as Excel
- Proficiency with data management software systems with some querying knowledge (e.g., MySQL, SQL, PostgresSQL…) is strongly preferred
- Experience working with the Ministry of Health other digital health tools is a plus
- Medical informatics and/or mobile health experience, especially familiarity with the OpenMRS platform and mobile health applications (e.g., CommCare, SurveyCTO, ODK) is a plus Behavioural Competencies
- Fluency in both Chichewa and English (reading, writing and speaking skills) is required
- Malawian national
- Demonstrated passion for strengthening the health system in Malawi
- Excellent interpersonal skills, including cultural sensitivity, assertiveness, and negotiating skills
- Impeccable communication skills and adept at coordinating communication across multiple stakeholders in high stress environments
- A strong interest in learning social medicine; that is, a willingness to look at diseases of poverty through a wide “biopsychosocial” lens that draws upon knowledge from a wealth of disciplines including clinical medicine, sociology, anthropology and public health.
- Willingness to live in a remote area and travel to field sites regularly
- Willingness to work overtime with little notice
Benefits & Remuneration
An attractive remuneration package will be offered to the successful candidates commensurate with experience and qualifications.
Method Of Application
Qualified and interested persons should apply to the address below, enclosing their cover letter; copies of relevant certificates and curriculum vitae indicating three names of traceable referees with valid telephone numbers and email addresses not later than Friday, 26th May, 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews.
The Director of Human Resources and Administration
Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (PIH/APZU)
P.O. Box 56
NENO
Or
P.O. Box 1774
BLANTYRE
Or
Email: apzuhr@pih.org
NB: Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (PIH/APZU) is is an equal opportunity employer, so, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, tribe, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We strive to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment.
Partners In Health/Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (PIH/APZU) is committed to safeguarding staff, children and communities with whom we work. We are committed to ensuring that those who benefit from our work- including our patients, families and community members – as well as our staff are treated with dignity and respect and protected from sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment. Therefore, any offer of employment is conditional upon
the successful completion of applicable background checks.
The Organisation does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process. If you are asked to make a payment at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact vgondwe@pih.org and speakup@pih.org.