Information, care, HIV/AIDS, and the linking of improved health and social outcomes using electronic information management tools in resource poor nations

The HIV epidemic in resource poor nations has a devastating effect on their peoples with dramatic falls in population survival rates. The extent of this epidemic is so great that in many nations basic food production is not occurring, and any significant output from manufacturing industries is falling because of the lack of people to employ within these industries. This paper describes how the effective use of information management technologies (IT) can link direct patient care processes within the micro-environment of health clinics based on Electronic Medical Record (EMR) functionalities, with wider community-based projects such as government initiatives and international programs (macro-information systems). Through the linking of these domains using cost-effective information systems and the intimate involvement of local populations in the development and management of these projects we can save lives through direct care and preventive care programs. This is particularly so with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and other resource poor nations. Through the use of these resources and progress towards self-sufficiency we may be able to provide the peoples of these nations with the resources to survive and become self-sustaining and resist their 'extinction' physically and economically.