iHRIS: Where Are We Now?

Today, 12 countries across Africa and Asia are using iHRIS to manage more than 475,000 health workers. Six other countries in the Caribbean, Central America, and Asia are actively planning to roll out the software this year. iHRIS has been translated into 13 languages. Governments use the data that iHRIS provides to inform strategic plans, remove ghost workers”—those who are no longer working but remain on the payroll—from the system, and strengthen health service delivery. iHRIS is laying a strong foundation for country understanding of and investment in solving health workforce challenges. We recently released a major new update to the iHRIS Suite, available for download from our newly redesigned website at www.ihris.org.

What’s next for iHRIS? We want to transform the suite from a human resources information system to a human resources management system. iHRIS does a great job of collecting, aggregating, and reporting health worker data for decision-making and planning purposes, but as countries are developing strong databases of health worker records, they need more effective ways of taking actions on these records. The next iteration will support efforts to make HR management actions more efficient and consistent across the health system.

A robust HR management system, as we envision iHRIS becoming, would enable HR managers to streamline the critical process of deploying health workers where they are most needed. Managers could use the system to identify vacancies, approve new positions, post job openings, make employment offers, and place health workers in districts and facilities. They could better support their workers by managing promotions, leave, benefits, retirement, and disciplinary actions. As managers use the system on a daily basis, they will ensure that health worker data are more accurate and up-to-date, which as a side effect will strengthen reporting and planning even more...