Tracking Community Health Data with Open-source CHITS System

Among the Health Market Innovations presented at the 2nd annual National Roundtable on Health Market Innovations here in Manila were two globally-influential health information platforms. The Community Health Information Tracking System (CHITS) was established in 2004, and that platform was used to launch the Tarlac Wireless Access for Health (WAH) program last year. (We are planning to visit Tarlac—assuming that a nearby typhoon moves up to Japan—so we will write more about that later).

At the meeting, participants evaluated 20 programs to ascertain which had the most impact, were truly innovating, effectively targeting the poor, using appropriate technology, and having an impact. All the programs will be added to the CHMI Programs database: Stay tuned!

About CHITS: The open-source software generating much excitement in the ICT for Health community is designed for rural health units to collect and organize health data.

CHITS integrates data about maternal care, child health, vaccination, anti-tuberculosis program, notifiable diseases, dental and general health visits into a unified, comprehensive computerized information system. Information about the community’s health status is made available not only to public health agencies but also to the community itself, enabling them to use the data to make health planning decisions.