The May Pen Hospital is among the first public health facilities set to benefit from the introduction of an Electronic Health Records (EHR) system in Jamaica. The implementation of the EHR and associated training of the staff are ongoing until November.

The work at May Pen Hospital follows the contract signing with The Phoenix Partnership earlier this year for the implementation of the EHR and the selection of the SystmOne software by a committee of clinical and public health stakeholders from the Ministry of Health & Wellness (MOHW) to be implemented in 13 pilot sites across the island.

The implementation of the EHR is paid for under the Health Systems Strengthening Programme (HSSP) for which the Government of Jamaica was given financing to the tune of US$50 million by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Euro 10 million from the European Union. A portion of the IDB sum is being invested in the EHR.

The system, which turns on the philosophy of ‘one patient, one record’, sees the transition to a paperless system for patient records and the upload and sharing of these records among healthcare providers for the seamless and collaborative delivery of care.

The EHR is a health information system with functionalities in patient registration, outpatient scheduling, inpatient and outpatient clinical documentation, patient flow and care planning, among other functionalities. The implementation of the system will mean shorter wait times for patients; less cost in providing services; increased productivity; reduced staff frustration; and increased service satisfaction levels.

Other facilities to benefit in this phase of implementation are: Spanish Town Hospital, St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, Chapelton Community Hospital, Mocho Health Centre, May Pen East Health Centre, May West Health Centre, Greater Portmore Health Centre, St. Jago Park Health Centre, Old Harbour Health Centre, St. Ann’s Bay Health Centre, Ocho Rios Health Centre, and Brown’s Town Health Centre.

The HSSP has as its objectives to improve the health of Jamaica’s population by strengthening comprehensive policies for the prevention of risk factors for non-communicable diseases and for the implementation of a chronic care model with improved access to strengthened and integrated primary and hospital services networks that provide more efficient and higher quality care.