A National Digital Healthcare Blueprint is to be formulated to provide a higher quality of healthcare for citizens of Sri Lanka.
he National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) will be released by the government bringing in the National Digital Health Eco-system (NDHE) to guarantee the availability of healthcare services on large-scale.
It encapsulates the goals of NHP 2017 and aims to leapfrog to the digital age by providing a wide range of digital health services.
It will support the quality of healthcare, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in an efficient, accessible, inclusive, affordable, timely and safe manner through the provision of a wide range of data, information, and infrastructure services.
The Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka announced that an agreement was signed between ICTA and the Ministry of Health (MoH) recently to formulate a National Digital Healthcare Blueprint.
The blueprint serves as a comprehensive roadmap with standards, policies, guidance, and specifications for implementation that will facilitate a higher quality of healthcare for citizens of Sri Lanka.
The objective is to improve healthcare services to the overall population, control healthcare costs by promoting health maintenance, prevention, and care coordination. Thereby develop resilient and sustainable systems for quality healthcare in Sri Lanka.
Under this initiative, a Digital Healthcare architecture blueprint, operational interoperability plan, Leadership, governance, point of care services including community health information system, electronic medical records, lab systems, pharmacy, logistics management systems, including capacity development and technical assistance will be looked into in this holistic approach.
ICTA has been actively collaborating with the MoH for several key initiatives, including successful implementation of Medical Supplies Management Information System (MSMIS), Hospital Health Information Management System (HHIMS), and the software solutions implemented to combat COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 5.7 million patients have benefited with quick and hassle-free access to healthcare services, efficient services delivery and dispensing of medicine in hospitals around the country including Kegalle, Wathupitawela, and Matara where the Hospital Health Information Management System (HHIMS) have been implemented.
The agreement was signed by Dr. S.H. Munasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Mr. Oshada Senanayake, Chairman, ICTA in the presence of Mr.Kanchana Thudugala, Chief Digital Government Officer ICTA, and Dr. Palitha Karunapema, Director – Health Information of MoH.
Measures will be taken to establish state-of-the-art digital health systems, for managing the core digital health data, and the infrastructure required for its smooth exchange.
·National and Regional Registries will be maintained to create Single Source of Truth in respect of Clinical Establishments, Healthcare Professionals, Health Workers and Pharmacies.
A system of Personal Health Records will be introduced, based on international standards that can be easily accessible to the citizens and to the healthcare professionals and services providers, based on citizen-consent.
·Measures will be taken to promote development of enterprise-class health application systems with a special focus on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals related to the health sector.