FG Inaugurates Committee on Digitalisation of Nigeria's Health Record

The federal government yesterday flagged off the work of Committee on the use of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Electronic Health Record (EHR) platforms to keep track of patient data, promote research, provide treatment, and manage operations and resources in the country's health sector.

The 20-member committee headed by the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, is expected to midwife data policy, regulation, repository management and serve as an ombudsman to establish a national digital health environment that will support the scale-up of digital health interventions such as national unified EMR platform.

Speaking during the inauguration of the committee in Abuja, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, said that the main thrust of the initiative is to make patient healthcare services more efficient and cost effective.

The minister said that technology behind the health data digitalisation initiative will be largely driven by the private sector noting that it will enable Nigeria to process and maintain accurate data for policy and development interventions.

While explaining the objective of the digitalisation process, Alausa said the national unified EMR platform will, "serve as a central hub to enhance health system efficiency, ensure robust monitoring of public health and disease outbreaks, mortality rates, facilitate seamless data exchange and quality assurance, and foster opportunities for further research to strengthen our national health security.