Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, has underscored the need for Ghana’s health facilities to go digital in their operations.
He said digitization of the Sector, will fast track quality health care delivery and reduce the burden of accessing health care services across the country.
The Digitization process will also bridge geographical barriers, reduce cost and time while delivering efficient service.
Mr. Agyeman Manu made the observation at the launch of an online platform by the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HEFRA), to help improve their operations across the country.
The agency also revised its Assessment Standards for Inspection, to improve the quality of care at all its licensed facilities.
The Health Facilities Regulatory Agency, HEFRA is mandated to register, inspect, license and monitor all private and public health facilities across the country.
Its mobile Online Information system, MOIS is therefore designed to leverage and enhance the execution of its mandate to bridge geographical barriers, reduce cost and time and increase the efficiency of the agency as it expands to cover all 16 regions.
Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, said digitization is an important tool for improving efficiency which translates into higher productivity and culminates into improved economic fortunes.
“It is commendable to see a relatively young agency like HEFRA bring about this innovation. Introduction to the package we are launching at this stage is to reduce the burden of the health facility and the agency. I urge the health facility and HEFRA to be committed to the implementation of the system to improve efficiency. At the implementation stage, you are likely to experience some challenges with the use of the platform but with commitment on the part of the users and dedication of the technical team to resolve any inherit challenges quickly, will engender confidence in the system to encourage more people to transact business” Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu said.
CEO and Registrar of HEFRA, Dr. Philip Bannor said with changing trends, it was important for the Agency to go digital to meet international best practices.
“Digitizing appears to be the only solution to our operations. Process to review the burden on both the client and us who have to address their concern. Having established the need for these projects, the execution took us more than a year. Thankfully, we are here to witness the products, to begin the process of their implementation. The essential aspect of the process is the implementation stage. We are mindful of the challenges that may arise” Dr. Philip Bannor said.
The Online Information System has eight key features including a Registration Module which serves as a submission system, Inspection Module which facilitates scheduling for inspection of health facilities, License, Monitoring and Online Payment module.
