Patients Know Best has been selected to provide a single patient record system for the Government of Lagos State in Nigeria, forming part of a partnership between Interswitch Group and the government to introduce the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform.
The contract will enable the government to host health records for over 20 million citizens, said to mark a significant step forward for healthcare infrastructure in the region.
Interswitch Group, an African technology company focused on creating solutions that enable individuals and communities to prosper across Africa, is leading the state’s single patient record system programme, which will utilise the PKB platform. The announcement highlights this provides “PKB’s Single Patient Record solution to deliver the records and APIs for Interswitch’s Digital Health Platform”.
PKB’s patient-centric architecture aims to help Lagos Smart Health Information Platform prevent key healthcare infrastructure limitations in a similar way to its implementation in the UK. Key features include a full suite of read-write FHIR APIs and capabilities to integrate data from a diverse range of sources into a single, unified health record. Integral to the programme will be close integration with Lagos State’s existing electronic medical records systems, ensuring all patient data is hosted securely, centrally and locally, in compliance with Nigeria’s sovereign data requirements.
The first stage of the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform project will focus on establishing the foundational data hosting infrastructure.
For patients, PKB also offers a patient-facing “intuitive user interface” providing tools such as questionnaires, collaborative care planning, symptom tracking and secure messaging to support active engagement.
Commenting on the programme, Mohammad Al Abaydli, CEO and founder at Patients Know Best, noted their experience in “partnering with government on innovations such as the NHS App in England, NHS Wales App in Wales and PGOs in the Netherlands”. He added: “Over the past 17 years, the patient-centric approach is delivering better patient care in more and more health economies. Nigeria’s commitment to leapfrogging to a modern, patient-focused system aligns perfectly with PKB’s mission. We are seeing a clear global shift towards investing in Single Patient Record systems, with significant interest from many major markets.”
Olufemi Olapegba, managing director, Digital Health Platforms at Interswitch, commented: “Interswitch’s collaboration with PKB underlines our broader commitment to driving digital transformation across critical sectors in Nigeria, including healthcare. By leveraging cutting-edge technology to streamline healthcare information exchange, we are building an integrated platform that enhances service delivery, improves patient outcomes, and redefines healthcare access in Nigeria and beyond.”
To learn more about LagosSHIP, please click here.
Wider trend: Introducing and optimising patient records
For HTN Now, we were joined for a panel discussion on the topic of optimising and adding value to EPRs by an expert panel including Ciara Moore, unified EPR programme director at Mid and South Essex and Essex Partnership University; Neill Crump, digital strategy director at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust; Stacey Spence, EPR programme manager at Medway NHS FT; and Andrew Harrison, product manager at Imprivata. The session focused on approaches to EPR and next steps following initial implementation, as well as what the future holds for EPR best practice.
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde has announced plans to procure a paediatric intensive care EPR to replace a current legacy system that has been in place for more than ten years. The notice sets out the organisation’s intentions to get a better understanding of current market capabilities and available solutions “in relation to the functionality required”, along with a view of indicative costs for implementation and ongoing support.
The go-live for Northampton General Hospital’s Nervecentre EPR is set to take place on 28 June, replacing the organisation’s current mix of paper and digital systems, and complementing the Northamptonshire Care Record to support more joined up care across the region. Training for staff is underway, with teams across the organisation working to ensure the system is embedded safely and effectively, according to the trust.
