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Health care industry

Zimbabwe's Digital Health Revolution: Modernizing Healthcare through Electronic Records

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Zimbabwean government is pushing forward with its plan to modernize the country's healthcare system by digitizing patient records and introducing electronic health records (EHR) systems. Over 1,200 public health facilities have been connected to the Impilo EHR system, a homegrown digital platform designed to store and manage patient information. The system provides real-time access to patient details, enhancing decision-making and reducing medical errors.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Impilo EHR system has been onboarded in over 1,200 public health facilities, with around 60% fully operational and the remainder in transition.
  • The system has been extended to major hospitals such as Chitungwiza Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals, with deployment underway at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and the paediatric unit of the Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare.
  • The rollout is part of a broader digital health strategy aimed at improving efficiency, accountability, and patient outcomes across the country's healthcare system.
  • Connectivity and power supply remain some of the biggest obstacles to the system's expansion, while high data costs also pose challenges.
  • The Government is addressing these issues by installing 500 Starlink kits at selected sites, and engaging with councils to cover data subscriptions under their e-health governance strategies.
  • Discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services to establish a Government-owned virtual private network (VPN) to strengthen data security and reduce reliance on third-party providers.
  • The Impilo EHR is being offered free of charge to private institutions, although they are expected to cover their own hardware and networking costs.
  • The impact of the system is already being felt at the operational level, with nurses and doctors spending more time with patients instead of filling in manual registers.

Statistics:

  • Over 1,200 public health facilities have been onboarded into the Impilo EHR system.
  • Around 60% of public health facilities using the Impilo EHR system are fully operational.
  • 1,254 institutions have been deployed with the Impilo EHR system, with the initial target of 1,864 facilities pushed close to 2,000 due to new centre constructions.
  • 500 Starlink kits are being installed at selected sites to address connectivity and power supply issues.
  • Discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services to establish a Government-owned VPN to strengthen data security and reduce reliance on third-party providers.

Sources:

  • Director of Informatics and Data Analytics in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Simukai Zizhou, was quoted in the article.
  • The Ministry of Health is working on the Zimbabwe Health Information Exchange, an initiative that will integrate data from both public and private health providers.
  • The Impilo EHR system is a homegrown digital platform designed to digitise patient medical records and create a centralised, accessible platform for healthcare information.

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