US$5M Technical School unveiled to support national eHEALTH rollout

Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony has announced plans to establish a US$5 million technical school dedicated to training persons to support the rollout and maintenance of Guyana’s new national electronic health records (eHEALTH) system.

The first part of the system is being piloted at the Festival City Polyclinic in Georgetown. An online patient booking system was launched on Tuesday.

Minister Anthony explained that training has already started for a number of young people to manage the system as it expands nationwide. The training is being done under a new programme within the health ministry.

“We have already secured funding, we have US$5 million set aside to start a technical school to train the technical people, so that they can be deployed to every region and be able to provide these technical services as we roll out this platform,” Dr. Anthony stated.

He further added that while the younger tech savvy population may be able to easily use the platform, there will be persons available to assist the older population as the platform is rolled out.

“We will have people who will be working to teach you some of these things,” the health minister said.

Meanwhile, by October 2025, the Festival City Polyclinic is expected to eliminate paper records entirely and use instead the eHEALTH platform.

UK-based company RioMed Limited in March this year, signed the US$3.3 million contract to design, supply, and install the eHEALTH system.

At the contract signing, it was stated that within 18 months, the project will be first be rolled out at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Festival City Polyclinic is one of the four primary healthcare facilities under GPHC.

Patients will eventually have access to their records via a mobile app. The system promises reduced waiting times, improved productivity, and seamless access to medical history across all public health facilities in Guyana.

“What we want to do when this system is fully deployed, when you come to clinic, very often the doctor will see and said go do this lab tests, as we improve the system, somebody will come to the outpatient department and take off your blood sample and take it to the lab.

“Now, you don’t have to and sit down at the lab and wait for the results anymore, those results once completed they will come into your patient record,” Minister Anthony explained.

Once fully operational, patients will no longer need paper charts, instead, with a smart card or ID, their entire medical history will be available electronically.

Lab results, X-rays, CT scans, and prescriptions will all be stored digitally and shared across the health network.

“While we are starting with the appointments module and we are starting small at Festival City, the idea is that once this fully operational someone at Georgetown Hospital, when you go to the hospital you will no longer have to use your patient chart, so there isn’t going to be a paper chart for you,” Dr. Anthony said.