Guyana has taken a another step toward modernising healthcare with the launch of a national Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, unveiled alongside a Health Fair at Festival City Polyclinic on Saturday.
The EHR system aims to reduce waiting times, eliminate paper records, and improve coordination of care. Patients will be able to book appointments online, access their medical history digitally, and move seamlessly between doctors, laboratories, and pharmacies.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony said the initiative reflects the government’s broader digital transformation and noted that the vision for electronic health records has been in development for decades.
“When the results [are] finished, you ain’t got to come back and wait there. That result goes directly into your record,” Dr Anthony said, highlighting the convenience of having laboratory results, imaging, and prescriptions stored in one secure digital file.
The minister also pointed to the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that managing patient data manually was a significant challenge. “We recognise that during COVID, to manage patients and to understand what was going on across this country, all of that we were doing manually, and it was a challenge,” he said.
Addressing concerns about data privacy, Dr Anthony reassured the public that strong legal safeguards are in place under the Data Protection Act, which imposes fines of up to $20 million for individuals and $100 million for institutions that unlawfully disclose personal medical data. “People’s information must be kept confidential, and we are taking this very seriously,” he stressed.
Looking ahead, the minister said the EHR system will be rolled out nationwide across all public hospitals and health centres, with plans to integrate private healthcare providers. “There is no difference between getting treated in Lethem or getting treated in Georgetown, because all would be on the same platform,” he said.
Dr Anthony urged both patients and healthcare workers to embrace the new technology, acknowledging that adjustments will take time but emphasizing the long-term benefits. “If we embrace this and work well, we will all share in the benefits,” he said, noting that the system will allow for more efficient care, better planning, and improved health outcomes for all Guyanese.
