An overview of Funsoft I-HMIS
The Funsoft Healthcare Management Information System has been developed by System Partners Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “the company”), and the company has worked with users of the system to refine and make it as user friendly as possible. A lot of work has been done to ease maintenance routines and to allow administrators as much freedom as possible in their roles in maintaining the integrated system.
The Funsoft Healthcare Management Information System has been developed by System Partners Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “the company”), and the company has worked with users of the system to refine and make it as user friendly as possible. A lot of work has been done to ease maintenance routines and to allow administrators as much freedom as possible in their roles in maintaining the integrated system.
Uniqueness, efficiency and evolution of Funsoft I-HMIS
The Funsoft I-HMIS, is a unique system in so far as product development cycle is concerned in that by incorporating end users on the production routines, a fairly effective system has evolved that takes care of various activities as applied to management of process control and in the administrative routines in a healthcare environment.
Users have played a major role in determining the way services are managed by the system and also in the way data is captured and stored on the Funsoft database. The various changes to the source code are tracked through source control and versioning. A complete list of its functionalities is given in a later section.
All our products are developed from scratch and go through a thoroughly tested process before being offered to the market. The Funsoft I-HMIS is a full-fledged I-HMIS system developed to manage the entire resources of a healthcare facility.
The system design aims at improving services provided by a facility in a modular approach. To enhance affordability and provide for quick gains a modular implementation approach is carried out whose focus can be aligned to the client’s needs and availability of funding as well as to take advantage of the flexible payments offered by SPL to support the smaller public healthcare facilities with limited financial resources. Having been developed entirely in the Kenyan public health sector environment Funsoft I-HMIS is tailored to specifically address the challenges presented by developing countries public health sector.
The system covers all the operations of an institution from patient registration through doctors consultations, Outpatient/Inpatient (ward), cash collection and billing, cash banking, theatre, laboratory, pharmacy, stores/stocks, procurement, mortuary, kitchen, dental, mother child care, debtors/creditors management, assets, budget, patient records, HR and Payroll.
The system also has a module for communication through email, SMS and internet. The messaging system is used to communicate to the facility staff, doctors and patients where patient’s telephone numbers are stored in the system.
The company is currently at an advanced stage of negotiating with Safaricom Limited to provide MPESA services through the Funsoft system with partnership with all the institutions using Funsoft in Kenya. This is possible because our system has a module that can receive and send SMS, email, XML, web services or other form of data across networks. Once a message is received the module is able to convert the message into appropriate data and store it in the Funsoft database and a receipt/voucher produced by the system for the customer to acknowledge receipt of cash. The data can then be retrieved from the I-HMIS just like any other data. Thus the Funsoft system has external interface capabilities with other applications.
The System has the capability for reminders such as clinics and bookings, meetings and appointments, maintenance and service dates etc. For the identification of patients and staff the system can allow photographs to be stored and associated with the owner in the system, and to electronically identify the person through Biometrics and Smart Card Technologies. The system can be set to flag out any unusual data entries, amount limits, access etc on a real time basis. It can also be set to for example to stop a cashier from collecting more cash after a certain threshold is reached until the cash is surrendered.
FunSoft™ I-HMIS system is based on an Open Source platform which makes it compatible with any operating system. The institutions do not get tied to a specific operating system vendor even when platforms are changed. Unlike most traditional systems, users are able to customize the user interface, customize reporting formats; can add new features with minimal or no technical knowledge. Implementation of the system is augmented with training and close user support from SPL that ensures smooth transition from manual to automated procedures. The software has no annual license fee. However a maintenance fee is charged annually. Where the client is well organized, the tasks of system installation and staff training usually take two to three days for a medium facility and a week for a big hospital because of the number of computers to be on the system.
Our application software is effective because it provides a single point computer access to an institution’s entire universe of applications, databases and services, as well as selected external information. The database and the front-end binaries are installed in a central server that is accessed by terminals in the institution through a local area network. Installation is by use of a self-installer CD with the system. Installation takes 10 minutes but a configuration to client specific environment is required. All our installations carry a 12 free month’s warranty. Funsoft I-HMIS was reviewed by the Ministry of Healthand certified for use in public healthcare facilities.
More on Funsoft I-HMIS
System Modules and Products
The FunSoft™ I-HMIS system as a comprehensive yet cost effective I-HMIS offers a host of features and modules that can be categorized into:
Provided Solutions
With the objective of being among players improving Kenyans lives, we aim at constantly improving the system to meet changing needs in the health sector. Our team is excited when presented with a challenge that would ultimately improve service delivery while at the same time, save on costs.