My friend, Adjoa, a first-time mother in Ghana, looked forward to welcoming her newborn. On the delivery day, she was away from her primary care center and rushed to another hospital for delivery, unaware that critical information about her dangerously placed placenta wasn’t transferred with her. Adjoa lost her baby and nearly her life, a devastating consequence of fragmented healthcare records. I have learned that her tragic story isn’t isolated – it underscores a widespread, urgent crisis across sub-Saharan Africa.
One way to tackle this crisis is to institute Electronic Health Records (EHR), which should be an integral part of any efficient health-care information system. Yet, across Africa, health records remain fragmented – locked in paper files or isolated digital platforms. Indeed, fragmented healthcare records routinely lead to preventable medical errors, redundant tests, delayed diagnoses, and suboptimal patient care.
Ghana’s health digitization landscape exemplifies this challenge, governed by two complementary yet distinct policies – the Ministry of Health’s (MoH) National E-Health Strategy, setting out the broad strategic vision, and the Ghana Health Service’s (GHS) Policy and Strategy on Digital Health (2023–2027), aimed at operational implementation. While separate documents align logically with each institution’s distinct roles – MoH providing oversight and strategic direction, and GHS handling implementation and operational management – the reality appears more complex. The absence of clear harmonization between these policies creates confusion among stakeholders, dilutes accountability, and results in piecemeal progress.
Significant gaps persist both in Ghana and across Africa. Primary healthcare facilities, which generate foundational medical records critical for patient care continuity, are frequently overlooked in digital initiatives. Essential data remain trapped in paper systems, disconnected from tertiary institutions, thereby compromising patient safety and healthcare quality. Even where digital systems exist, those are equally siloed, not talking to each other. Furthermore, inadequate infrastructure, unreliable connectivity, limited healthcare personnel trained in digital systems, and reliance on donor funding exacerbate these issues, disproportionately affecting rural and resource-constrained communities throughout the continent.
That’s why my organisation’ platform at MedTrack integrates with Ghana’s national biometric ID system, ensuring that patient records are accessible across different healthcare facilities. By linking health data to a unique national identifier, we address the fragmentation that hinders healthcare delivery. With over 20,000 registered users and more than 300,000 health records processed and linked to the national biometric ID, we are steadily building a scalable solution for continuity of care.
Crucially, our approach prioritizes last-mile integration by partnering with District Health Directorate Heads. Through our collaboration with the Gomoa East District Health Directorate, we have secured access to 31 primary health facilities to pilot our flagship MedTrack EHR system. The results speak for themselves: in facilities where MedTrack has been deployed, patient wait times have been cut in half. At MedTrack-enabled facilities, patients avoid duplicate procedures thanks to accessible records, and over 70% of those using the Patient App can share their health data for continuity of care – even at non-MedTrack facilities. Such localized successes serve as strong evidence that digital transformation in health can deliver swift and measurable improvements.
However, scaling these successes requires more than isolated interventions. It demands coherent policy implementation backed by sustained investments and collaboration.
Countries like Rwanda and Kenya have demonstrated that with targeted infrastructure investments, robust training programs, and well-defined regulatory frameworks, digital health adoption can succeed. Ghana can follow suit by adopting standardized interoperability frameworks, international cybersecurity protocols, and capacity-building initiatives tailored to its unique healthcare landscape.
Current Ghanaian policies correctly outline visions but fall short in execution, often lacking clear accountability and integration. Moreover, the recent 2025 budget reflects worrying omissions: while nearly US$1.5 billion is committed to physical infrastructure and healthcare programs, explicit funding for digital health infrastructure—essential for interoperability and universal health access—is conspicuously absent. This must change. The unpredictable nature of donor funding, as seen recently with USAID budget cuts, further reveal the urgency for self-reliance in financing essential digital infrastructure. African governments must recognize that digital health infrastructure is no longer optional but foundational to achieving effective universal healthcare coverage.
As Ghana’s 2025 Budget Statement overlooks dedicated digital health funding, and with the U.S. slashing USAID programs by 83%, disrupting health services across Africa, the urgency for self-reliant health infrastructure becomes evident. Concurrently, the European Union’s implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) on March 26, 2025, offers a strong model for Africa to develop its own interoperable digital health systems.
Further, the recent political transition in Ghana offers a strategic moment to pivot decisively towards a fully integrated digital health system. Harmonizing policies across health authorities, investing deliberately in infrastructure, and establishing clear accountability can transform healthcare delivery nationwide. By seizing this opportunity, Ghana could provide a replicable model for the rest of Africa, demonstrating how integrated digital records can enhance patient safety, improve healthcare efficiency, and ultimately save lives.
The technology and expertise needed to end the fragmented health records crisis already exist. What remains is decisive, strategic action from governments, healthcare leaders, and private sector stakeholders. Tragedies like Adjoa’s must no longer remain in silence; instead, let them inspire urgent, meaningful change. As we observe World Immunization Week, let this be our moment to move beyond policies to measurable outcomes – ensuring no patient’s care is compromised by fragmented records again.
Victoria Mabel Sackey is Co-founder/COO of MedTrack, Ghana, where she tackles fragmented health records through a comprehensive database system enabling secure access to patient information when needed for optimal care continuity.
