Govt rolls out electronic medical record system in greater Masaka
Rakai Health Science Program IT Officer, Mr Herman Nkugwa (right) guides a doctor on how to enter data in the computer for ART clients at Maddu Health Centre IV at the launch of EMR system on Friday. PHOTO | ISSA ALIGA
What you need to know:
- While launching 25 computers, which will be distributed among eight health centres, Dr Fred Mugera, the acting Gomba district health officer, said although the Health ministry had earlier rolled out the electronic medical record system, the district had not operationalised it due to lack of computers.
The Ministry of Health has rolled out an electronic medical record system in the greater Masaka districts to track patients’ history.
By digitalising patients’ data, the ministry is hopeful that it will ensure quality and efficiency in medical service delivery.
While launching 25 computers, which will be distributed among eight health centres, Dr Fred Mugera, the acting Gomba district health officer, said although the Health ministry had earlier rolled out the electronic medical record system, the district had not operationalised it due to lack of computers.
“The ministry had already started the process but our district health teams have been using papers due to lack of computers and Internet. We thank the donors and I am optimistic that it will help to boost the quality of health services,’’ Dr Mugera said on Friday.
Rakai Health Sciences Programme (RHSP) donated the computers as well as training the health workers on how to use the new system.
He said patients’ medical information would be electronically shared from one department to another while observing confidentiality.
Dr Mugerwa said the system will also help to show which doctor attended to which patient and at what time.
“We are starting with HIV/Aids patients, but will later extend it to all clinical aspects of the medicine to boost the referral system,” he said.
“The same system will also be used to address lost follow-up of pregnant mothers who miss the four antenatal visits as they receive their treatment,” Dr Mugera said.
He called upon health workers to embrace the new system in order to create a proper database about patients and their respective medical records.
Mr Matia Kakooza, the officer-in-charge of Maddu Health Centre IV, said monitoring and tracking of patients will be easy.
He also called upon the district health team to guard the computers against damage.
“I call upon our health team to have keen interest in learning the use of computers, maintain them, and don’t use them for other purposes,” he said.
The beneficiary health centres include Rafa Medical Centre, Kyaayi, Mpenja Buyanja, Ngomanene, Kanoni, Kifampa, Mwamba and Maddu Health Centre IV.
For effective use of the electronic medical record system, unlimited Internet and a solar system was installed at each of the health facilities to ensure reliability.
Ms Scovia Nalubega, a person living with HIV, said the system promotes privacy and confidentiality of data collection.
“This time health workers call us using our identification numbers unlike in the past where one’s name was used and the whole public got to know, we are happy with this new digital system,” she said.
Progress
In an interview with Daily Monitor, Mr Paul Mbaka, the assistant commissioner, in the Ministry of Health in charge of health services and information and management, said they have so far installed the electronic medical system in about 20 of the 56 national referral hospitals.
“We are now embarking on procuring computers for health centre IVs,” Mr Mbaka said.
He said the system would ease the monitoring of public health teams’ daily attendance and control theft of public drugs, a vice that has crippled the health sector.
Mr Mbaka, however, cited lack of funds as a major block to their deliberate efforts to digitalise the country’s health system and called upon all partners for more support.
