The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that the State government will deploy technology to aid precision, faster and smarter health care services in all health care facilities as a means of achieving its Health and Environment mandate.
Sanwo-Olu who disclosed this while declaring open a 3-day Smart Health Technical Symposium on e-Health themed “Lagos State Smart Health Information Platform, SHIP” stressed that his government is prepared to leverage on technology to improve health care delivery in the state.
The Governor who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, stated that the essence of the e – Health symposium organized by the State Ministry of Health is to enhance the already existing e -health platform to ensure Lagos remain in tune with modern technology.
He explained further that the development of e – Health makes it possible to have a single source of truth with a solid data base which makes planning effective
“It is important for us to establish and strengthen our health information platform as this will positively impact on our various health care system, health financing through our Universal Health Coverage, biosecurity, biosafety which will also lead to employment opportunities while opening doors for international collaboration”, the Governor said.
Highlighting the importance of accurate data in medicine and health care delivery, Sanwo-Olu described data as the currency of the future stating further that data generated under the Lagos State One health strategy would enable the Sanwo-Olu administration to better meet the needs of residents and implement lasting policies for the benefits of future generations
He revealed that the present administration is currently working on a 3000km of fiber optic network which allows accessible network to all hospitals and public agencies.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, noted that the 3-day technical conference on e – Health is geared towards strengthening the Smart Health Information Platform (SHIP) of the State which would further strengthen the State’s one healthcare record policy.
He listed the advantages of SHIP to include precision medicine, accelerated human resource development, quality assurance, standardize exchange of information and optimize operating procedures adding that SHIP is in furtherance of the efforts to ensure efficient and effective healthcare delivery in Lagos State.
Abayomi explained that the Lagos State smart health strategy will improve efficiency, reduce wastage of scarce resources, improve income generation, drive the bioeconomy, accelerate human resource development, create global virtual health hub and prepare the State to enter the digital age of precision medicine.
The Commissioner noted that one Lagos-One Health digital strategy will owned by Lagos and partners will help deliver a road map, global bench mark standards, a business model, a technical working group, time lines to first prototype and Income Generating strategies.
Participants at the conference are expected to examine the modalities of bringing more hospitals from the primary to secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities on board the interactive Health Management Information system software, simply referred to as e-health project which had been introduced in 12 Lagos State owned hospitals some years ago.
