GHIMA warns health facilities against using unlicensed data personnel

The Ghana Health Information Management Association (GHIMA) has issued a stern warning regarding the employment of unqualified and unlicensed personnel to manage health data within the country's medical facilities. According to the association, this growing practice poses a significant threat to patient safety and the overall quality of healthcare delivery. GHIMA President Richard Delali Ahedor emphasized that the management of health information is a specialized field that requires professional expertise to ensure the integrity of medical records.

The association's concerns are rooted in the potential for data errors that could lead to poor clinical outcomes. Ahedor noted that accurate health data is indispensable for clinical decision-making and for the effective monitoring of healthcare interventions. When data is handled by individuals without the proper training or licensing, the foundation of medical diagnosis and treatment planning is compromised, potentially leading to life-threatening mistakes in patient care.

GHIMA is calling for strict adherence to the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, which mandates that only licensed professionals should be responsible for health information management. The association urged the heads of all healthcare facilities to prioritize the engagement of qualified personnel and called on government agencies to ensure that recruitment processes for health information roles specifically target licensed practitioners. By enforcing these standards, the association believes Ghana can better safeguard sensitive patient information and improve national healthcare outcomes.