The Lagos State government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Interswitch through its Healthtech subsidiary, Interswitch eClat, to develop and manage the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform (LAGSHIP).
This public-private partnership will help improve Nigeria’s underfunded healthcare industry.
A recent report from Knight Frank estimates Nigeria would require about $82 billion of investment in healthcare assets to reach the global average. This means healthcare institutions struggle with daily operations due to many constraints and process inefficiencies.
In a statement, Babajide Sanwoolu, the Governor of Lagos, said, “The signing of the Concession Agreement between the Lagos State Government and Interswitch for the implementation of the Smart Health Information Platform (SHIP) is a ground-breaking development which signifies the start of a comprehensive technological overhaul in Lagos State’s health sector, aimed at enhancing residents’ access to healthcare services.”
Read also: A force for progress: How Interswitch and ACI are powering Africa’s payments revolution
He noted that the platform represents a significant and innovative approach to using technology to access health information.
“22 years ago, we set out with a clear vision to solve social problems in Nigeria, starting by digitising the use of cash, making it available to Nigerians just in time. Today, despite the incremental efforts of Interswitch and other players over the years, digital payments are estimated to be still less than 20 percent of total transactions in the economy,” said Mitchell Elegbe, founder of Interswitch.
According to the partners, Interswitch will support the State Government in securely leveraging data harnessed from electronic medical records deployed across all hospitals (public and private) and allied locations within the industry value chain to create enhanced experiences for all stakeholders, from administrators to medical personnel and patients, as well as better planning and policy-making.
Wallace Ogufere, Managing Director for Interswitch eClat, added, “The go-live of the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform will significantly close many identified gaps in electronic medical records management, essentially addressing long-standing constraints including process inefficiencies, limited transparency and inadequacy of necessary tools and supplies, among other challenges.”
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