Saint Lucia's hospitals will receive technical support in the implementation of a health management information system.

Representatives from RIOMED, a UK-based healthcare solutions company, met last week with officials from the Ministry of Health, the executive directors of the Saint Jude and Victoria hospitals, officials from the Corporate Planning Unit, and the commissioning team for the Millennium Heights Medical Complex, to discuss a cohesive information management system..

The health management information system , they said, will improve service delivery and health outcomes for the patient.

"Wherever services are delivered for health, patients will be able to turn up at those services and the physicians or nurses will be able to access their patient records online, so we have continuity of healthcare delivery across all health centres, and all hospitals around the island," RIOMED representative, Mario Mohammed, explained.

"In terms of creating better health care, it is absolutely crucial because we have continuity where one patient, one record is held, so that the user, either the clinician or the nurse or the doctor, understands all the complexities of that particular patient, regardless of where the patient turns up."

Sheralin Monrose, Information Systems Manager for the National Health Management Information Systems Unit said the current system used by the Ministry of Health spans 30 of the 33 wellness centres on the island with a plan to fully integrate all wellness centres.

"Part of what we are doing here today is to prepare both the Millennium Heights Medical Complex and the Saint Jude Hospital for the health information system. The overall objective is for "one patient, one record," and to have that movement of patient records across primary and secondary care."

The health information management system will reduce duplication as well as improve the quality and safety of the services delivered at the various health institutions. It is a closed network that will share data between hospitals and the primary health care clinics in Saint Lucia.