The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has commenced a four-day validation workshop to review and update the country’s Medical Records Strategy and Operational Guidelines, aiming to bring the framework in line with emerging developments in digital health, data governance, interoperability, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI).
Opening the workshop on behalf of the Director-General of GHS, Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, the Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME), Dr Samuel Kwabena Boakye-Boateng, said the revision has become necessary because the country’s health information landscape has evolved considerably since the current Medical Records Policy was introduced in 2017.
Dr Boakye-Boateng told participants that the exercise was about ensuring Ghana’s medical records governance keeps pace with a rapidly changing technological environment rather than remaining anchored to assumptions nearly a decade old.
“Our mandate this week is to validate Ghana’s Medical Records Strategy and Operational Guidelines so that they are genuinely fit for the environment we now operate in, not the environment of 2017, but the environment of today and of the next decade.”
Dr Samuel Kwabena Boakye-Boateng
He acknowledged the contributions of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), noting that their technical support, particularly through a medical records gap analysis conducted ahead of the workshop, had provided a strong foundation for the review process.
A Decade of Digital Health Growth Behind the Review
Dr Boakye-Boateng pointed to several developments driving the need for updated guidelines: the expansion of Electronic Medical Records across health facilities, continued growth of the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS2), increasing data interoperability between health platforms, and the emergence of AI tools in clinical and administrative settings.
Together, he said, these changes require policies that strengthen data governance, patient privacy, cybersecurity, AI oversight, data quality, equity and implementation frameworks.
That evolution builds on a longer trajectory in Ghana’s digital health infrastructure, from the National eHealth Strategy of 2010 to 2017 through the subsequent Digital Health Roadmap, which introduced platforms such as the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS) alongside DHIMS2 to gradually move the health sector away from paper-based records.
Dr Boakye-Boateng was direct in linking the technical governance gaps under review to real consequences for patients and health workers, rather than treating them as abstract policy concerns.
“The challenges we are addressing, which are absent AI oversight, weak data quality standards, fragile consent models and inequitable access, are not abstract governance problems. They affect real people seeking care in our facilities every day. Our patients deserve policy that protects them. Our health workers deserve guidelines that support them.”
Dr Samuel Kwabena Boakye-Boateng
UNDP and WHO Back the Revision Process
Speaking on behalf of UNDP, Project Management Specialist Toko Reikam reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s digital health transformation, framing responsible AI governance as central to improving health outcomes.
“By addressing potential risks and ensuring human security, artificial intelligence can contribute to improving health outcomes in Ghana. UNDP, jointly with WHO Ghana, is happy to join the Ghana Health Service to revise this critical document.”
Project Management Specialist Toko Reikam
UNDP’s involvement in Ghana’s health data systems extends beyond this workshop; the agency has separately partnered with Japan on a digital health project aimed at strengthening DHIMS2 through tools such as multi-dashboard analytics and AI-driven data insights, part of a broader push to modernise how the country collects and uses routine health data.
The workshop has brought together regional health managers, medical records professionals, digital health experts and development partners to validate recommendations across six priority areas. Organisers say the outcomes are expected to inform a modern, secure, rights-based and interoperable medical records governance framework for Ghana’s health sector going forward.
Dr Boakye-Boateng officially declared the workshop open and urged participants to ensure their deliberations produce practical, evidence-based guidelines capable of strengthening health information management and safeguarding patient data for generations to come.
Facilitators and Technical Support
The validation meeting is being facilitated by Dr Salamatu Attah Nangtoma, Deputy Director for IME; Collins Agyenim Boateng, Deputy Director for Plans and Budget; and Hammond Sakwaah, Deputy Director for ICT, with technical support from Dominic Atweam of the WHO Ghana office and Toko Reikam of the UNDP Ghana office.
With the four-day session under way, the coming days will determine how closely the validated recommendations translate the workshop’s stated priorities, AI oversight, data quality, consent and equitable access, into concrete operational guidelines.
Given how central platforms like DHIMS2 and EMRs have already become to routine care across Ghana’s health facilities, the revised strategy is likely to shape how patient data is protected and shared across the system for years to come.
READ MORE: Modern Lifestyles Driving Rising Fibroid Cases Among Ghanaian Women – Dr. Secorm
