COME 2020, the Ministry of Public Health will be rolling out a series of Health Information Systems in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) starting with the Pharmaceutical Management System, thereby enabling the Regional Health Department to effectively monitor usage of drugs and other medical supplies.

This is according to Region Five’s Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr. Desmond Nicholson, who recently sat down for an interview on Guyana Chronicle’s online programme – Vantage Point.

The Health Information Systems’ Project, which is designed to protect patients’ privacy, maintain confidentiality and effectively monitor the usage of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, was initiated in 2017 but encountered some difficulties. Dr. Nicholson said the Regional Health Department, through the Public Health Ministry, has asked the Ministry of Finance to include in the 2020 National Budget funds to complete the project. It was noted that a large percentage of the funds would be used to purchase computer hardware.
“We want to install Pharmaceutical Management programmes or software where we are able monitor our drug usage across the region closely, (so) we can intervene promptly preventing shortages,” the RHO explained. He added that the Pharmaceutical Management System will allow for the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital, the Fort Wellington Hospital and the 16 health centres spread across the Mahaica-Berbice District to be optimally stocked with essential medicines.

“This system will allow for more accurate forecasting by centre or location and a more accurate regional consumption,” Dr. Nicholson further explained.

At the moment, the region is using the Logistics Management Information System (LMIS), which includes the use of a “series of ledgers,” however, the Health Information Systems Project, in time, would result in the complete digitisation of the regional healthcare system. The RHO said the Pharmaceutical Management System is a good place to start.

“Essentially what we would be able to do, is effectively forecast what happens locally and regionally so we wouldn’t have shortages of essential medicines. Our chief pharmacist with this system is able to tap into any database, in any of the health centre at any time to see that there might be a shortage here, there might be a shortage there, or an impending shortfall…and then he would be able to effectively prevent those shortfalls by intervening in a prompt manner,” Dr. Nicholson explained.

He iterated that the Pharmaceutical Management System will allow the region to effectively detect shortfalls. “It also allows us to see where the shortfalls are in one health centre compared to another health centre and then we can quickly move drugs that are in excess in one place to another place because our consumption report is going to be in a digital form,” he further explained.

Though there have been reports of shortage of drugs and medical supplies in other parts of the country, Dr. Nicholson said in Region Five there are no shortages. “As of today we are sufficiently stocked with all of the essential medicines that are listed and published by the Ministry of Public Health,” he said.

Once the Pharmaceutical Management System is fully implemented, the RHO said the department, through the Public Health Ministry, will be working to implement other Health Information Systems.

The Patient Portal System and the Remote Patient Monitoring System are among those on the table. “Patient Portal – this allows the patient to access their personal health data online. They can see appointment information, their medications and lab results also they can schedule appointments with physicians. Other applications include Remote Patient Monitoring where we monitor blood glucose levels, blood pressure of patients with chronic illnesses. In doing so we can spot downward trends and intervene early,” Dr. Nicholson explained.

The Health Information Systems Project is part of a broader public health vision the government wants to see come into fruition by 2020, with three over-arching goals: advancing the well-being of all Guyanese; reducing health inequities and improving the management and provision of evidence-based, people-responsive, quality health services nationally.

When the project was initiated nationally in 2017, the Dr. Karen Gordon-Boyle, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), said that the hi-tech information strategy will dramatically slash waiting-time patients spend at public health facilities. When fully implemented, health providers will have more time to spend improving patients’ health literacy. The novel plan will reduce, drastically, the observable gap in the quality of patient-care currently existent between the country’s coast and hinterland areas.