By Kemi Olatunde

Health Records and Information Practitioners in the country have been urged to key into the use of information technology to help in the discharge of their duties.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Pharm. (Mrs) Folukemi Aladenola spoke at the 42nd Annual General Meeting and scientific conference of the Association of Health Records and Information Management Practitioners of Nigeria (AHRIMPN) in collaboration with the Health Records Officer Registration Board Of Nigeria (HRORBN) held in Akure, the state Capital.

Aladenola who was also the keynote speaker at the event, described healthcare data as the life blood of informed decision making in healthcare industry, stating that it plays a vital role in shaping health care policies, decision making and resources allocation.

Speaking on the topic “Changing Healthcare Data Narratives in Nigeria: the indispensability of Electronic Health record, the Permanent Secretary explained that it is essential to manage and analyze huge health data, noting that outdated data management process are not sufficient to analyze big data adding that variety and volume of data sources have increased in the past decades

According to her: “Many of our health facilities in the country still rely on manual record keeping leading to inefficiencies errors and difficulties in data analysis, the country is yet to explore the power of collaborative institution Data working.”

She called for a change to modern ways of data system saying “things must change.”

She stressed the need for the establishment of data sharing protocols where healthcare providers can collaborate, exchange information and contribute to a more holistic understanding of health issues in Nigeria

She urged communities to integrate into data system to change data narratives in the country

” We need to engage the communities and promote health literacy, educating individual about importance of health data, it’s significance in decision making and how it can impact healthcare outcomes will encourage active participation and support in data collection efforts.

” There is therefore urgent need for new and innovative health data tools and technology that can meet and exceed the ability of managing healthcare data in a world propelled by technology saying our healthcare must evolve to meet the demands of the 21st century.

While lauding the efforts of the government of Ondo state, Aladenola said that the state government has trained and retrained officers to meet the demands of their jobs in different capacities while noting that the Ministry has continued to do data validation for effectiveness of data generated.

She informed that the government has given approval for the recruitment of health workers to mitigate against the Japa syndrome as retired officers who are still interested in working will be brought back to the system to serve in the various hospitals in the state.

Earlier the Registrar/CEO, Health Record Officers Registration Board of Nigeria (HRORBN), Alhaji Babgana Mustapha pointed out some unprecedented stride have been achieved to strengthen the quality of Health Information management such as The review of National Diploma and Higher National Diploma ((HND) curricula in collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) them the successful review of accreditation guideline to meet the current standard required of a training institute.