By ADERONKE OJEDIRAN

Lagos State Government has signed a concession agreement for Smart Health Information Platform (SHIP).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that SHIP was created to transform data transmission and management across all state-owned healthcare facilities.

It is aimed at creating a backbone for seamless movement of patients’ data and to enhance digital transformation in the state’s healthcare system.

It was designed by the state government in collaboration with eClat, a health technology company, and Interswitch Ltd.

The signing ceremony held at the Lagos House, Marina, on Tuesday.

Digital Health Platform Ltd. – a special purpose vehicle comprising Lagos State Ministry of Health, Interswitch and eClat – will drive SHIP operations.

Lagos State Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu supervised the signing of the concession agreement between the state’s Office of Public Private Partnership and Digital Health Platform Ltd. ahead of the full deployment of SHIP in the state’s health sector.

Sanwo-Olu said at the event that SHIP was a transformational step in simplifying data collection and usage in the state’s health sector.

“We made a bold move in leveraging technology to enable efficient health delivery.

”This will enable proper allocation of resources and empower decision makers to analyse and evaluate the impact of interventions in the sector.

“We have seen a global trend in using technology as a backbone to manage healthcare delivery and to assess changes in lifestyle of the population.

“We have seen the transformation technology has brought to banking, transportation and education,” the governor said.

He said that SHIP was a bold step of the government to transform healthcare and ease cumbersome data processing in public hospitals.

“This transition has taken us about two to three years of building a robust platform that will secure and protect patients’ data.

“During this journey, we were able to identify best partners that will deliver and help us realise our vision for the transformation of services in our hospitals.

“This is the beginning of full information technology reform in our healthcare system,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu assured the public of full protection of the database, adding that there would be maintenance of privacy of the data collected through the platform.

“As the technology is being rolled out, I believe the state will see the benefits of the decision we are making today.

“We hope to see how this will strengthen and enhance access to healthcare, enable us to analyse the health needs of the people, and guide our interventions in the sector,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, said that general hospitals alone generated seven million contact data.

The commissioner said that managing the data required a robust digital infrastructure that would enable elimination of repetitions and errors.

Abayomi said that SHIP would empower the state government to plan and coordinate health services across all levels.

”We can use the data for policy formulation and use the data to apply resources to certain places.

“The platform is not only for the care of patients, it is also for policymaking,” Abayomi said.

The Group Managing Director of Interswitch, Mr Mitchell Elegbe, said that SHIP would not only allow free flow of data from one health institution to another, but would also provide seamless payment options for patients.

He gave the assurance that the platform would not compromise patients’ data and other information stored in it.

“This partnership is something we won’t take with levity,” he said.

The agreement signing was also witnessed by the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro. (NAN)

•PHOTO: From left: Managing Director, Eclat Healthcare Ltd., Dr Wallace Ogufere; Group Managing Director of Interswitch Ltd., Mr Mitchel Elegbe; Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; Lagos Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Pedro Lawal; and Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, during the signing of the Concession Agreement for the Implementation of the Smart Health Information Platform, at the Lagos House in Marina on Tuesday.

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