provide citizens with access to appropriate yet comprehensive information that would inform and guide their health care management. The HIS will contain a complete medical and health supply inventory system to manage inventory and expiration dates. It will provide information of individual drug items and drug interaction, track utilization and enable the management and allocation of limited resources across health districts. A policy framework for tele-medicine will be crafted as part of this programme and which will enable the managed broad introduction of this technology into the health system. The enactment of appropriate legislation to ensure safe and secure operation will facilitate the use of telemedicine as a possible export service. The ICT infrastructure to support the HIS and telemedicine by providing interconnectivity between health institutions and to the international health community will be developed as part of this Programme. The Infrastructure will also enable the implementation of a comprehensive staff information system, SIS, which is aimed at improving the management of personal staff information, benefits administration, professional development, succession planning, staffing and organization management and recruitment. And finally the electronic tagging of patients will be piloted as part of this programme, as an inordinate number of patients abscond from the hospitals of SVG. Such tagging facilitates the tracking of patients by using a device or electronic tag to monitor the location and status of a patient from a central location. This will enhance the healthcare system. Attention will need to be paid to any possible legal issues that may arise through this initiative. The e-Health Programme therefore proposes many related but integrated healthcare projects which need to be prioritized over the life of the plan. Action Item: Launch HIS and Connect all Clinics, Hospitals and Health Centres to Broadband 5.1.6 Tourism The work of the Ministry of Tourism and associated agencies in the development of a onestop travel Portal for St. Vincent and the Grenadines is strongly supported by this national ICT plan. This initiative forms the basis for the ‘Virtual St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Project. This project seeks to maximise the use of ICTs to attract visitors to the country. It will expand the proposed Portal to be highly interactive, building on the SVG’s ‘many islands, different cultural experiences’ of the cultural gems of Vincy Life theme. The opportunity exists here to utilise the private sector to build components of the required infrastructure such that it can be exported to the OECS in the medium term and to other island states in the long term. This portal will provide virtual tours, booking of flights, hotel and car rentals, promote tourism packages, St. Vincent & the Grenadines National ICT Strategy and Action Plan P a g e | 68 brand SVG as a premier tourist destination, and maximise the revenue generated from current and proposed tourism products. The second major initiative that is proposed under this sector is the integrated Supply Chain Management Project. During the life of this plan, ICTs will used to integrate all agencies, organisations and businesses within the tourism supply chain into a seamless whole. This means fresh produce from farmers will be available just in time to support the needs of visitors at the hotels and guest houses. It means that the SMEs which support the tourism sector will be able to obtain work on-line, invoice and receive payments electronically. This project will inevitably support the agricultural sector and because it will encourage all businesses to go online, it will grow the demand for ICT development and support – in effect strengthening the ICT sector itself. 5.1.7 Legal and Regulatory Excellent progress has been made with the development of a robust legislative regime to support the telecommunications sector and with the introduction of the Electronic Transaction Act, the Information and Communications Technologies Services Investment Incentives Act & the Small Business Development Act in 2007. However, as the country accelerates its ICT agenda, the legal and regulatory framework needs to be further strengthened. This will be done under the eLegislation Programme.