January 2013 - Informatics

International e-Gov UpdateMOBILE APP FOR ELDERCARE SERVICES IN SINGAPORESingapore has introduced afree on-the-go mobileapplication to help peoplelocate eldercare services atthe first ever CommunityHealth Assist Scheme (CHAS) HealthCarnival. The GPS-enabled app called“Mobile Eldercare Locator” (MEL), allowsusers to search for clinics, learn moreinformation about eldercare and search forhealth and social care services, based onthe location and type of service required bythe elderly. The app and festival are alsomeant to raise awareness of CHAS.The CHAS benefits people aged 40 andabove who live in a household with amonthly income of no more than $1,500per head. Some 220,000 people alreadyreceive subsidised care at private generalpractices and dental clinics under thescheme.Singapore Silver Pages (SSP) is aspecialised one-stop resource entity forIntegrated Care that aims to address theinformation needs of the ageing populationin Singapore by providing a single sourcewhere the elderly, their family membersand caregivers can access trusted andauthoritative information on eldercare.There are more than 1,000 suchorganisations featured in the app, whichwas developed by the Agency forIntegrated Care. In addition to this, the appalso features a GPS-enabled journeyplanner that instructs users how to get tothe location of the service provider eitherby private car, taxi, bus or MRT.Guest-of-honour and Health MinisterGan Kim Yong said there is a need to helppeople understand their own state of healthbetter and support them in managing anyconditions. The MEL app is available oniOS and Android platforms for downloadfree of charge.US FEDERAL AGENCY MOVES EMAILS TO THE CLOUDThe Department of VeteranAffairs (VA), has moved15,000 employee emailaccounts to Google Apps forGovernment, announcedCharles De Sanno, Executive Director ofEnterprise Systems Engineering,Department of Veteran Affairs. The fiveyearcontract will eventually move 600,000users to cloud services provided byMicrosoft. The agency is expected tocomplete its migration early next year.The move is providing governmentemployees many of the same benefits aswhen businesses migrate to the cloudincluding improved efficiency, savings andservice. The Department of Veteran Affairsis the second US federal agency to moveto cloud email. Earlier to this, the GeneralServices Administration (GSA) announcedits move to cloud.Moving to the cloud enables the VA tofulfill the cloud-first federal mandate whileanticipating improved employeeproductivity and collaboration andreduced costs.The VA will use Microsoft Office 365 forGovernment, which features a separatecommunitycloud, for email,sharedcalendars,instantmessaging, andWeb and videoconferencing. Italso includesindustry-leadingapplications forproductivityand collaboration including cloud-basedOffice, Exchange, Lync and SharePoint.VA provides a wide range of benefitsincluding, Disability, Education andTraining, Vocational Rehabilitation andEmployment, Home Loan Guaranty,Dependant and Survivor Benefits, MedicalTreatment, Life Insurance and BurialBenefits. Veterans AdministrationTransformation Twenty-One TotalTechnology’ (VA T4) was launched in 2010.This US$12 billion programme aims toimprove the department’s execution of ITprojects and further advance top-priorityprogrammes for veterans. The initiativewill award 15 contracts, at least four ofwhich are reserved for service-disabledveteran-owned small businesses and threefor veteran-owned small businesses.The contract worth US$9.8 million isexpected to save the agency, $12 millionover four years by moving its 25,000employees from the current on-premisesemail system to cloud.For Further Informationhttp://va.gov42 | informatics.nic.in | January 2013