PDC Updates | Apr 21, 2010

Initial Participants in the Global Healthcare Facility Database Initiative

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Direct Relief International (DRI)
  • Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)
  • Harvard University
  • International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
  • International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC)
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • John Snow Inc. (JSI)
  • Loma Linda University (LLU)
  • National Defense University (NDU)
  • Nordic Geospatial
  • Pacific Disaster Center (PDC)
  • Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
  • Partnership for Quality Medical Donations (PQMD)
  • ORC Macro
  • Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC)
  • United States Department of Defense
  • Universal Postal Union (UPU)
  • University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB)
  • University of North Carolina (UNC)
  • US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • US Health and Human Services (HHS)
  • US Navy
  • US State Department
  • World Health Organization (WHO)

During the 7th Annual World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C., April 12–14, one session was called "Building a Global Healthcare Facility Database." The initiative to build that database and to make it universally available to all persons and organizations capable of using it, was determined to be an "urgent need."

Haiti Earthquake

Surviving a devastating event like the Haiti Earthquake means more than being found in the rubble and helped out of it. Often, a healthcare facility is needed. This initiative intends to make it easier to locate healthcare. (Image: A Heart for Haiti. Warning: Many images at the site are boldly graphic.)

Many organizations, including PDC, have agreed to work together to compile this vital information and share it, and the effort is being spoken of as a redefinition of "borderless data collaboration." A list of the initial partners in the Global Healthcare Facility Database Initiative is on this page.

The brochure inviting additional partners to join the effort is posted on PDC's website.

A list summarizing the "next steps" in this Initiative is below. For details, see the brochure using the link above.

In making this project successful, there appear to be several critical 'covenants' that each collaborator must agree to:

  • The information will not be owned… by any one organization.
  • The database must be hosted in a universal format.
  • Each data element contained will be available without cost to the requester.
  • Each organization is encouraged to publicly share additional data.
  • Organizations will be credited as among the many sources of the given data.
  • An "open" process for editing and peer review will be used.

Related web resources:

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