The Federal Government of Nigeria has inaugurated an implementation committee for the country’s digital health initiative, which aims to modernise healthcare delivery and data management in the nation.
The implementation committee, comprising 20 members, will oversee the formulation of data policies, regulations, and repository management and act as an ombudsman to establish a national digital health environment conducive to scaling up digital health interventions.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Abuja, Prof Muhammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, emphasised that digitising healthcare would enhance patients’ experience and ensure data protection.
Pate outlined the anticipated benefits of the digital health platform, including improved health outcomes for patients, reduced costs of care, enhanced work life for health providers, and increased effectiveness and efficiency in healthcare management.
Dr Tunji Alausa, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare and chairman of the committee, highlighted the challenges posed by the lack of uniform data collection and management in Nigeria’s healthcare system.
He stressed the need for the digital health initiative to encompass data gathering, repository management, servicing, and regulation beyond Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Electronic Health Record (EHR) platforms.
Alausa underscored the importance of digitalising the healthcare system to align with President Bola Tinubu’s vision for the health sector.
He emphasised the pivotal role of quality data in enabling the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to achieve its four-point agenda and advance the national health delivery system.
His words: ”The committee will oversee the deployment, architectural design, and pilot of the EMR platform and provide guidance for its coordination, implementation, and execution across all levels of healthcare delivery.
”The pilot phase of the EMR platform will commence at federal tertiary hospitals and expand to one state per geo-political zone to evaluate its efficiency and accuracy.
”Subsequently, public and private healthcare institutions will be encouraged to adopt the EMR platform to achieve a unified and robust national digital health ecosystem.”
Daju Kachallom, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, highlighted the initiative’s potential to save lives, reduce physical and financial burdens, and achieve health for all Nigerians.
She emphasised integrating the digital health approach across various facets of the healthcare system to enhance service delivery, financing, referral management, pandemic preparedness, and research.
”The inauguration of the implementation committee marks a significant step towards realising Nigeria’s vision of a modernised, data-driven healthcare system that ensures equitable access to quality healthcare services for all citizens,” she stated.
