The Ministry of Health has launched a new digital platform, the Ghana Health Information Management System (GHIMS), to replace the malfunctioning Lightwave system under the previous government.
The rollout aims to restore efficiency and continuity in healthcare delivery nationwide.
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, during the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, October 29 explained that the new system is fully owned by the state, ensuring no single vendor can monopolize access to health data.
He added that GHIMS introduces an exchange mechanism, allowing external providers to integrate with the system without direct access to sensitive billing or sector data.
“The good news is that we have the solution. And the solution in finding the solutions, we have taken cognisance of the issues that have gotten us here. The issues we are resolving, the issues one was that the software didn’t belong to the state. And so, when we are going for any, it must be for the state. And so, today we have GHIMS. And the GHIMS is Ghana Health Information Management System, and not for any individual.”
The Minister also noted that while the previous system had only connected 450 of the country’s 950 health facilities, the new platform will expand coverage to all facilities and open bidding to multiple players in the sector.
“Going forward, we’ll open this and players in the sector to bid, provided the management, so that we’ll open it up, and they will all go through the exchange right away, so that it will not end at where we are at the moment,” he added.
This development follows disruptions caused by the shutdown of the national health information system, which forced some hospitals to revert to cash-and-carry services and left patients with valid NHIS cards unable to access care.
GHIMS is intended to prevent such interruptions and strengthen the management of healthcare information across Ghana.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
