Legislation for Electronic Medical Records being developed

─ health ministry to pilot EMR in new year

The government is determined to create a modern healthcare system for Guyana and as such, the Ministry of Health is in the process of developing legislation for electronic medical records (EMR) in Guyana.

The EMR system is an electronic record of health-related information of a patient. It can facilitate workflow and improve the quality of patient care and patient safety. 

The development of the legislation will protect patients’ privacy, Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said. He was speaking at an event in Region Two recently.

“One of the things that we’ve already started working on is to make sure that by some time next year, we’ll be able to pass the relevant laws to allow for digital or electronic record systems but to also create the legislative environment to ensure that these records and people’s information are kept safe.”

Healthcare personnel will also be trained to operate the system and to alsoprotect individuals’ privacy.

“We’re hopeful that by sometime next year, we’ll also start piloting the first steps of this electronic medical record system,” he added.

This forms part of an holistic approach to modernising the health system in Guyana as the health ministry is also piloting a telemedicine programme in four remote communities in Region Nine – Gunns Village, Nappi, Yupukari and Parikawarinau.

Villagers in these communities are now able to receive care from specialists and doctors stationed in Georgetown through their health centres that are equipped with technological devices.

In addition, simulation centres will be developed to aid healthcare personnel to deliver quality healthcare to citizens.  A simulation centre is any location where healthcare education involving experiential learning, also known as healthcare simulation, is conducted.

The Registered Nursing (RN) programme will be launched in 2023 and according to Dr Anthony, the ministry is hoping to train about 1,000 persons to fill the gaps in the nursing profession.

“There are a whole host of other specialised programmes that would become available to you, and while we have started the decentralisation of the foundational programmes […] the specialised one we’ll see in terms of interest, how many people we’ll have and maybe we’ll be able to offer some of them in the regions.”