Improved healthcare delivery promised as US$3.3M contract signed for digital health records system

UK-based company RioMed Limited on Tuesday signed the US$3.3 million contract to design, supply, and install the Electronic Health Record (EHR) system in Guyana.

The project is expected to be fully operational within the next 18 months and will first be rolled out at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

At the launch on Tuesday, it was revealed that the software is fully customisable which means it can be tailored to suit the requirements of the public healthcare sector. The project is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

RioMed’s Managing Director, Mario Mohammed spoke about the company’s commitment to improving the quality, safety, and efficiency of healthcare delivery in Guyana.

“This project will provide significant benefits to patients attending any health facility across Guyana,” Mohammed said.

Patients will be able to securely access their medical records online via their own devices, Mohammed explained.

“Patients and staff will benefit from having one unique record which can be accessed by qualified healthcare professionals with appropriate privileges at any point where healthcare is being delivered,” he stated as each patient will be given a unique identifier.

At the contract signing, Mohammed assured that going forward, RioMed will engage key stakeholders involved in healthcare service delivery in Guyana to understand the challenges ahead and formulate a plan of action to address these challenges.

Chief Executive Officer of GPHC, Robbie Rambarran during his remarks, underscored the significance of the initiative, emphasising that it would facilitate the transition from paper-based records to digital solutions.

Because of the current paper-based system at GPHC, a patient going to various clinics has separate records.

“The separate records, what happens with this is it results in polypharmacy, it results in physicians not knowing and sometimes patients would not give doctors their proper history, and they will prescribe drugs that may conflict to another specialty that prescribed to them before.

“Some of the difficulties in that paper-based system is lack of integration,” Rambarran highlighted.

With the electronic health record system, patients’ records despite various clinics will be integrated into one.

Rambarran also highlighted that over $400 million has been invested in upgrading the hospital’s IT infrastructure in recent years.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, echoed similar sentiments on the importance of the initiative, stating that step by step, Guyana is creating a world-class healthcare system.

The Health Minister also tasked RioMed with setting monthly targets for the project’s roll out. This will allow stakeholders to track progress.

“There is no turning back, we are going forward,” Dr. Anthony said.

“Don’t look back for the paper; it is not going to be there. We are moving forward with an electronic health record system.”