The government will soon sign a contract for the development of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system aimed at digitising medical records, thereby revolutionising the health sector. Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony made this announcement Saturday evening, at the graduation ceremony for the Masters Certificate in Healthcare and Physician Leadership programme at Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown. He explained that the initiative is part of the ministry’s broader digital health strategy, which will be rolled out over the coming years.
“At some point, you will have an app on your phone, and you’ll be able to see all your health information on the app. Right now, we are working on that. And maybe in another month, we will be signing a contract with a company that would allow us to do that,” the health minister further stated.
The EHR will be an integrated and efficient system, containing a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatments, and test results. This will enable healthcare providers to make optimal decisions regarding patient care, improving the overall experience at health institutions across the country. An evaluation team, which includes the Mount Sinai Health System, has been tasked with ensuring that the best system is selected.
Sixteen companies have submitted bids to design, supply, and install the electronic system. The project is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with approximately $1 billion allocated.
