Experts seek mandatory adoption of electronic records in hospitals

Health and technology experts in Nigeria are advocating for the mandatory adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) across all hospitals nationwide. They assert that digital health records are essential for enhancing the quality and efficiency of patient care, improving the accuracy and availability of medical information, and supporting better clinical decision-making and health system planning.

These calls were made at MedVerge 2.0, a healthtech event organized by HelpMum Africa in collaboration with Dobic Health and SmartMRS. The event convened industry leaders to discuss the future of healthcare and technology's role in it. An EMR is defined as an electronic record of a patient's health information accessible by authorized clinicians within a single healthcare facility, storing medical history, diagnoses, medications, and test results to aid treatment tracking and reduce errors.

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Nigeria should prioritise and ensure that healthcare records can be accessible to everybody and to hospitals. The government should make it mandatory for all healthcare facility providers to digitalize their process so that that will be achievable, so that healthcare records can be seamlessly exchanged between healthcare providers, and they can be able to have access to records too.

Dr. Abiodun Adereni, Convener of MedVerge and Founder/CEO of HelpMum Africa, Dobic Health, and SmartMRS, urged the Federal Government to establish clear standards and enforce EMR adoption in both public and private hospitals. He believes widespread adoption will eliminate delays in accessing patient information, improve care coordination among providers, and ultimately enhance healthcare delivery. "Nigeria should prioritise and ensure that healthcare records can be accessible to everybody and to hospitals. The government should make it mandatory for all healthcare facility providers to digitalize their process so that that will be achievable," Adereni stated.

Beyond EMRs, Adereni stressed the importance of increasing health insurance uptake to achieve Universal Health Coverage. He suggested the government issue more licenses for health insurance businesses and implement a mandatory health insurance policy with penalties for non-compliance, noting that "Health insurance is the factor that will help scale healthcare innovations." He also called for continued efforts to revitalize primary health centers to ensure healthcare accessibility at the grassroots level.

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Health insurance is the factor that will help scale healthcare innovations.