Adoption of technology in delivering services is key to building and sustaining Nigeria’s health sector, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Minister of State for Health has said.
According to him the use of technology in health management is paramount in collating detailed and reliable data in the health sector.
The Minister stated this while addressing Health Record Practitioners at the 2017 Annual National Conference/Workshop of Association of Health Records Practitioners of Nigeria (AHRPN) held recently in Abuja.
Dr Ehanire who noted that the role of record practitioners in the health sector is “critical in our nation’s effort to rebuild the healthcare system”, urged the record officers to avail themselves of digital health information technology revolution which has no doubt changed health records management practice.
‘’As there is clearly no alternative to embracing technology, I shall be looking forward to seeing health records managers at various levels of the health delivery system striving to ensure that Electronic Medical Records Software Solutions(EMRSS) are deployed at their facilities, to migrate from paper based health records keeping to electronic health records management.’’
Adding that the use of Information Communication Technology in record management is indispensable to the attainment of Universal Health Coverage in Nigeria, he stated that increasing demand for detailed and reliable data and achieving health records management manually has become a daunting task.”
Mrs. Binta Bello Adamu, the Permanent Secretary who was represented by Dr. Saidu Ahmed, her Senior Technical Assistant say healthcare facilities across the country must imbibe the ‘’Change begins with me mantra’’ by ensuring that health records departments are restructured, better equipped and well positioned to face the enormous and crucial challenges of health data administration and management.
She adds that Health Records Officers Registration Board of Nigeria must collaborate with Healthcare facilities and agencies to encourage and ensure the conversion from paper-based to paper-less records through the deployment of Electronic Health Records (EHR).
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