THE Ministry of Health is advancing efforts to modernise healthcare delivery through the development of a comprehensive digital health strategy.

This is according to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, who made this disclosure following the contract-signing for the implementation of the electronic health records system.

Dr. Anthony noted that officials have come up with a digital health strategy for the ministry and this has been drafted.

The initiative he said is being supported with resources from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) through which the establishment of a digital health department was facilitated within the ministry.

“We have started to build a digital health department within the ministry, and we have a number of consultants that we’ve been able to hire, working with us,” Dr Anthony said.

He added, “So they would be able to oversee some of the things and how it’s being rolled out.”

According to the minister, the transition towards a more digital and efficient health system is a crucial step in improving healthcare services.

“We hope that with the partners having gone through this very lengthy process, that our partners will be able to deliver [a] quality product and make sure that we are able to do this in a timely manner.”

The government he added has also been collaborating with the British government on various initiatives related to digital health.

Further, he noted that there now exists a roadmap of where they want to go in relation to digitisation over the next few years.

Looking ahead, the ministry is also focusing on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the health sector and work is ongoing to develop an AI health strategy for the country.

The development of the digital health strategy marks a significant step toward the modernisation of Guyana’s healthcare system, ensuring improved service delivery and efficiency.