I am pleased to send this message of felicitation to the “eHealth Asia 2015” conference organized jointly by the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka and the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Asian eHealth Information Network and a host of other local and international partners including the Ministry of Health.

I recall my participation in the first in the series of conference organised by the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka, eHealth Sri Lanka 2010, in 2010.

I am happy to see the progress that has been made since then. I am particularly pleased with the fact that the members of the Society have helped the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine to produce 84 graduates in Biomedical Informatics in the past 5 years and that those graduates are helping to develop eHealth in Sri Lanka.

I am also pleased to note that the Information and Communication Technology Agency, which is entrusted with the task of spearheading the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country has partnered with the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka to take forward the very important task of developing the Health Sector of our country and globalising the achievements of our health sector.

I wish the conference every success.

It gives me great pleasure to be invited to be the Guest of Honour at the Inauguration of eHealth Asia 2015 conference organized by the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka and the Information Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Asian eHealth Information Network.

I understand that one of the main objective of this conference is to showcase the work done by the holders of the MSc in Biomedical Informatics conferred by the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo who are now working as Medical Officers/Dental Surgeons in Health Informatics in various institutions coming under my Ministry. I am very pleased to say that we have been extremely happy with the invaluable services provided by these graduates. They have helped to improve the information systems in the health sector which would in turn contribute to better quality of care provided by the health Services.

 

In addition to that the conference is a great opportunity to network among local and international development partners in eHealth. I am particularly pleased to see the Asian eHealth Information Network joining hands to co-organise this event. I wish to invite the network to organise more of their conferences in Sri Lanka. We would be happy to facilitate them.

I am particularly pleased to see the participation of the corporate sector in this conference, not just as sponsors, but as resource persons. Private public partnership is essential as we move forward in eHealth in Sri Lanka. Health information from both the private and public sectors have to be merged together if we are to have a true picture of the true burden of disease in our country which is essential for policy planning.

I wish this conference every success.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all of you to eHealth Asia 2015.

This conference is another milestone in a long journey of promoting eHealth in the Health Sector of Sri Lanka which began with the establishment of a Computer Committee in the Sri Lanka Medical Association in 1996. That effort gathered momentum with the formation of the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka in 1998 and was consolidated with the commencement of the MSc in Biomedical Informatics at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM), University of Colombo in 2008.

The course has now produced over 80 graduates who are spearheading the development of eHealth in the health sector of Sri Lanka. These graduates are a unique resource that no other country in the world has in their health sector. We have been showcasing some of the work that they have been doing at our past conferences.

This year is a special year, we have partnered with the Asian eHealth Information Network to showcase this work to the Asian region. I wish to thank the conference co-chair Dr. Alvin Marcelo for the support he has given us to make this conference a success.

Once again, I welcome all of you to eHealth Asia 2015 and hope that you will have a stimulating conference and an enjoyable stay in Sri Lanka.

As global institutions reach consensus on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, it is imperative that countries be prepared for the new indicators that will be used to measure progress and accountability. There have been tremendous lessons from the Millennium Development Goals and these should inform countries as they shift to the new agenda. The new global indicators will influence the design of our health information systems.

Sri Lanka is fortunate to have a vibrant health informatics community that is a beacon to the region. While it is important for government to create a nurturing environment for eHealth development, the role of civil society cannot be ignored and should be leveraged. Such is the contribution of the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka to the Asian region and to the world.

I invite the delegate to participate actively in all the sessions. These were designed to give a wide perspective on the state-of-the-art of eHealth as well as ground the audience on the realities of implementation. Ultimately, information systems integrate much the same way clinicians gather data from various sources to care for a patient. Interoperability is our siren call. Let us all come together and build healthcare systems that are safe and efficient for all.

The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) is delighted to partner the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka (HISSL) and the Asia e Health Information Network (AeHIN) in organizing eHealth Asia 2015.

ICTA is strongly committed to ensuring that Sri Lanka benefits from the rapid developments in the domain of Information and Communication Technologies. The potential for leveraging on ICTs for improving the economy of Sri Lanka, reducing poverty and improving the quality of life of its people is immense. Of major significance is the role that ICTs can play in ensuring the health and wellbeing of our people. The HISSL has contributed immensely towards the development of e-Health in Sri Lanka over the past several years. ICTA had many successful collaborations with the HISSL over the years – we have had a very fruitful and productive partnership that has led to many achievements.

Today Sri Lanka is on the threshold of a new wave of development and ICTA is poised to take advantage of this with a far reaching vision which will bring rich dividends to the Country through modern digital infrastructure and state of the art technologies. In this context e-Health Asia 2015 which addresses wide ranging aspects leveraging on ICTs for delivery of health services to people is very timely. I am also happy that AeHIN is a partner of eHealth Asia 2015 since regional collaborations are vital for strengthening national initiatives and will no doubt contribute significantly to achieving mutual goals.

One behalf of the ICTA I would like to congratulate HISSL and AeHIN for their efforts in getting this conference off the ground and wish all presenters and participants a successful and productive conference.

It is a pleasure, privilege and an honor for me to welcome all of you for eHealth Asia 2015. Its yet another great milestone for the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka (HISSL). The reception received and the interest expressed on the conference had been overwhelmingly encouraging.

It is a privilege for HISSL to partner with ICTA (Information Communication Technology Agency) and the AeHIN (Asia e Health Information Network). HISSLs collaborations with the ICTA and AeHIN goes many years back and has resulted in many successful outcomes. eHealth Asia 2015 will be another addition to that chain of successes. I thank ICTA and AeHIN for their contribution to eHealth Asia 2015 and to HISSL.

I thank all our partners who have sponsored this event including the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka, other local and international NGOs and professional bodies, private sector industry partners and the local and international academic institutes and academics. I also thank the speakers and chairpersons for the valuable contribution they add to the conference. I also thank the participants for the enthusiasm shown in eHealth. Specially I acknowledge those who travelled from abroad just for eHealth Asia 2015 and I warmly welcome you to Sri Lanka.

In the coming year HISSL will inaugurate many partnerships with many stakeholders interested in Health Informatics like NGO’s and private sector industry partners to uplift the Sri Lankan Health Informatics industry via collaborative development. HISSL intends to share its expertise in the eHealth domain as well as add quality and credibility to the local Health Informatics related projects by opening out for partnerships.  

HISSL believes in public private partnerships for sustainable development. HISSL looks forward to continue being the link between the Ministry of Health, NGOs, the local and international industry partners and the local and international academia, in order realize the aims of the eHealth Sri Lanka initiative.

eHealth Asia 2015 is therefore a platform and a launching pad for Health Informatics collaborations, not only for Sri Lanka, but for the whole Asian region. I, on behalf of the HISSL wish to congratulate AeHIN and ICTA for the long and fruitful relationship with HISSL which paved the way to events of this magnitude.

I wish the presenters and the audience a successful and a productive conference.