Background
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) supports Member States in strengthening mortality information systems and advancing implementation of the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11), through digital transformation, interoperability, capacity building and regional technical cooperation.
As part of this work, PAHO is developing a regional electronic Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (eMCCD) application to support standardized, interoperable and high-quality mortality reporting. The application integrates international health information standards, including HL7 FHIR and the WHO ICD-11 API, within a modular architecture designed to facilitate implementation and adaptation across countries in the Region of the Americas.
The initiative includes development of a regional white-label eMCCD solution, country proofs of concept and implementation activities, interoperability with national health information and mortality coding systems, and development of approaches to improve the quality of medical certification of cause of death.
PAHO is also exploring the incorporation of AI-enabled clinical decision support within the eMCCD to assist physicians during completion of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, including approaches to improve the quality, completeness and consistency of medical certification.
In parallel, PAHO provides technical cooperation to Member States for ICD-11 readiness and implementation, including institutional and hospital-level maturity assessment, interoperability and terminology services, capacity building, technical training and implementation guidance.
PAHO requires specialized technical expertise to support these interrelated areas of work.
Purpose of the Consultancy
The purpose of the consultancy is to provide specialized technical expertise to support the development, implementation and regional scaling of the eMCCD initiative and related ICD-11 implementation, interoperability, terminology and digital health activities in Member States.
The consultant will work closely with PAHO technical teams, software development resources, Member States and relevant partners. The consultant will provide technical leadership, specifications, implementation support and coordination rather than being solely responsible for software development.