The Sunday News
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday News Reporter
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care has come up with an electronic health system, called Impilo, which is set to help in the effective monitoring and tracking of patients countrywide, while a nationwide project for broadband connectivity in the country’s top 350 health facilities has also been launched.
Speaking at a post Cabinet briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said Government appreciated that, in an increasingly globalised world where the threats of fast-spreading health diseases or disasters are ever-increasing, there was need for availability of real-time data to enable efficient and effective monitoring and decision-making. The system, she said, had been developed by a team of technicians made entirely of locals.
“Accordingly, the Ministry of Health and Child Care, with the support of partners has developed a comprehensive, health-centric and integrated national Electronic Health Record System called Impilo for patient registration, patient management and evaluation, patient tracking, stock usage and tracking, and data aggregation, validation and analysis. Impilo will be deployed at five Central Hospitals, seven Provincial Hospitals, 30 District Hospitals, and 384 Clinics across the country. It is pleasing to note that the Impilo Electronic Health Record System was developed by a 100 percent Zimbabwean technical team and licensed under the Ministry of Health and Child Care. The system supports health workers in following clinical protocols for priority health services,” she said.
Minister Mutsvangwa also said a broadband rollout programme, which would be buttressed by the solar health project cabinet announced last week.
“Connected to this development, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has also partnered with the Global Fund through the United Nations Development Programme to launch and sustain a nationwide project for broadband connectivity in the country’s top 350 health facilities, based on patient volumes. The launch of the solar health project previously reported at the Twelfth Post-Cabinet Press Briefing will provide the back-up power to both the electronic health record system and the internet connectivity services,” she said.
In a development to address the power challenges experienced by health facilities, Cabinet last week announced that it had adopted a proposal for the installation of solar back-up energy kits at six hundred and forty (640) health facilities.
“Connected to this development, the Ministry of Health and Child Care has also partnered with the Global Fund through the United Nations Development Programme to launch and sustain a nationwide project for broadband connectivity in the country’s top 350 health facilities, based on patient volumes. The launch of the solar health project previously reported at the Twelfth Post-Cabinet Press Briefing will provide the back-up power to both the electronic health record system and the internet connectivity services,” she said.
