Keep yuh eye on de ball.

Dat is ah expression ah tort ah was good at followin, especially when politicians bouncin de ball.

Ah fail dis time.

Ah did know when de politicians did drop de ball de fuss time cause I was followin dem close. Den when ah notice it was gettin bounce again, ah tort ah was still on de ball. Until ah start mih research fuh dis an realize ah was really behind de ball.

Aspects ah de health care in T&T under review yet again because de whole system keep showin how outrageous it could get. It showin dat too often oui.

Treatin patients good have tuh be routine buh it have too much bard practice dat routine instead. Den is endless tork about fixin tings. So mih initial focus on someting orf center from dat.

What ball ah just notice bouncin?

Dis week, de Minister ah Health, Dr. Fuad Khan, tork about T&T needin tuh have ah electronic health record system. Fuh starters dat mean hospitals have patients charts in dey computers. Eef tings set up good it also mean any hospital could retrieve de information in ah electronic chart. Basically eh.

My own doctor who older dan dirt, does wear he pants up under he armpits. Eef he kick yuh wid dem shoes he does wear, is stab yuh gettin stab. Buh he have he iPad or Tablet an he does be clickin away when ah answer he questions. He doh ever write paper prescription. De fuss time ah see him, he ask mih what pharmacy by me an from den he sendin new prescriptions electronically. All dat is part ah my electronic health record.

Anyway, Dr. Fuad add dat de govahment wukkin on settin up someting in T&T tuh be in place next year, 2015. Election year nah.

Ah didn’t notice dis ball was gettin bounce back in October 2013.

At ah UNC rally, Kamla an Dr Fuad did tork about part ah what de system would do. Ah patient go have someting like ah ATM card buh only fuh use at ah pharmacy. Behind de scenes de system go check all de rules on who is de patient, what dey sick wid, what de doctor say dey should take, how much, how often, all dat. Is me “behind de scenes” eh, not dem.

De first phase rollin out in 3 months de minister say. Kamla was more specific—Jan. 2014. She say de whole electronic health record idea wasn’t de PNM’s was de UNC when it was in power.

Kamla? De idea in de public domain long time. Stop de partisan crap. Steups.

Jack Warner say someting about somebody tiefing someting from he buh since I doh take he orn no more, ah eh realize is de same card he dey wid. Jack boy? Read what ah just tell Kamla.

Ah miss where Larry Howai tork about dis same card in September during he budget speech. I hope he didn’t claim de idea fuh he party nah.

Now all de way back tuh 2009.

In December dat year, de den Minister ah Health, Jerry Narace, announce T&T was gettin ah E-Health Card.

“Hi-tech”, de papers call it. Why de Trini press love dat term so? Ah frighten tuh tink ah what kind ah nastiness dey would do wid it eef it an dem was alone oui.

Jerry was bouncin de ball de month before by de way. Ah miss dat too. 

He promise each citizen was goin an have ah card by 2012. He also mention de same ting Kamla mention later—de Chronic Disease Assistance Programme, CDAP. Larry did mention it too in he budget speech.

When I did hear Jerry announcement doh, ah tell mihself ah know some ah what it would take tuh do what de minister torkin about. I dey; ah een dat; ah could help! Dey bong tuh qualify dis Trini as competent tuh wuk on de project.

When ah take mih idea ah gettin involve tuh ah pardnah, also in I/T, we had tuh first dead wid laugh at de part where de minister say de electronic health card could roll out by de end ah 2010. Buh we was ready like Bunji sing later. De problem was dat after dat announcement by Jerry, de radio went silent.

We start diggin fuh more information an contacts buh de silence was killin we. Like dey wasn’t bong tuh qualify we as competent Trinis tuh wuk on dey project.

Nuttin. Nuttin, nuttin nuttin. Den Manning do he dotishness an call elections.

What happen boy? Nah not tuh we; de ball? Ah know it geh pick up by de PP even eef Kamla suggestin is dem ball as dey had it first.

Is bed-side care dat come first an it cyar be no hit or miss ting.

Yes de surroundin pieces needed, buh first come first. Is more dan just patient charts. Is lab results. Is analyzin’ how doctors doin. Is billing. Is patient referrals. Is managin pharmaceutical supplies so drugs doh run out an yuh know when dey gettin tief. All dem ting an more have tuh wuk hand in hand since one hand cyar clap. Doh fuhget de infrastructure tuh connect all de pieces. How dey could get it in place an customize de system in ah year? 

Ah eh even mention de most important piece—trainin de people. Every piece dat people does touch is ah potential place fuh ting tuh break dong. Right now dat piece, de important piece, break bard.

Leh mih stick wid de “hi-tech” fuh ah second.

Kaiser Permanente in de US take 10 years tuh do it Electronic Health Record. It give up de first time in 2004 after 4 years an $400 million. Dey retry an finish in 2010. Four tuh 6 billion dey spend.

Yes dey have 9 million patients. Dey also more hi-tech dan T&T Healthcare system so dey road was shorter. Ah doh like makin blanket comparisons between T&T an First World countries buh it good to get ah sense ah de road travelled by udders eef yuh want tuh reach which part dey is.

Maybe is not de whole ting just piece dey really plannin like Germany?

Ah would be more optimistic ah how dis ball bouncin eef de govahment ah de day, was improvin de quality ah care people gettin. Same ting ah was sayin in 2010.

Yuh have tuh prevent absolute horrors like what happen wid de woman gettin she dead baby in ah bag tuh take home wid she. Or before dat, de woman gettin she baby head slice open durin ah C-section; orn an orn. Eef yuh cyar prevent dem kind ah tings, who care eef dey health care record in electronic format?

Now dat ah start back watchin dis ball bounce, ah rememberin ah next expression: Doh pave de cow path.

Me eh mind being rong on dis nah.