My thoughts on this topic were fully crystallized at a WHO workshop to disseminate the Consolidated Guidelines on Person-Centered HIV Patient Monitoring and Case Surveillance, from June 18 to June 23, 2017, where one of the discussions centered on the state of national eHealth data collection and management systems.

My thoughts on this model, were firmed up by the discussion and sharing following the three-age system adopted by history, anthropology and archeology in organizing human events. The stages are:

  1. Stone Age - communities of 25 to 100 people surviving on hunting and gathering. Some communities evolved into having temporary settlements at opportune locations for economic activities
  2. Agricultural Age - permanent settlements varying in size from villages to walled cities. Increased scale of domestication of animals, planting of fields and use of tools for agriculture.
  3. Industrial Age - Replacement of hand tools by power driven-tools, communities coming together in governance, planning and resource mobilization. Learning and culture starting to blossom, and new knowledge being created

Now to map those models into national digital eHealth initiatives

  1. Stone age
  2. Agricultural age
  3. Industrial Age

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts … Where does your nation lie