Dateline: mid-March 2012
Location: MIT Sloan
by Thapana “Pipe” Chairoj

After realizing how much impact our team could potentially make for our host organization in the long-run, I became excited to put our knowledge and expertise into practice.

Currently without any medical record system, Chebaiywa Health Center (CHC) has an ambitious goal of implementing OpenMRS software to establish its patients’ record-keeping system. As much as I appreciate the team’s initiative, I am afraid that the implementation will be much more difficult than initially anticipated, given the available resources at the clinic. To me, there is no doubt as to how valuable this electronic medical record system could be, if it is used appropriately. Hence, in my opinion, my ultimate goal for this project is to ensure that the CHC team is equipped with appropriate resources before they start using the OpenMRS. That is to me the only way the CHC team can get the maximum benefits out of the program in the long run.

The essence of this project really fits the reason why I signed up for the ghdLAB course in the first place. I have a firm belief that the healthcare sector in Africa needs much more than mere financial support, and I believe we MBAs can contribute our expertise in various fields to make valuable contributions. I can’t wait…