From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja 

Registrar of the Health Records Officers Registration Board of Nigeria (HRORBON), Mohamed Mami, has blamed the dearth of data for planning in the health sector on the high percentage of unqualified health records officers in the employ of tertiary health institutions in the country.   

Mami, who spoke during a media briefing in Abuja, on the review of the training curriculum for health records officers, called for strict adherence to recruitment of trained and licensed health information managers, especially in government-owned tertiary hospitals and institutions. 

He stated that lack of uniformed data on the country’s health indices and disease burden has long hindered the provision of adequate, effective, affordable and efficient health care services to Nigerians.

Mami also announced that the board, which is supervised by the Federal Ministry of Health, has inaugurated a five-man investigative panel and a seven-man Professional Disciplinary Committee to weed out quacks and to respond to disciplinary matters, with regards to maintaining the quality of service delivery from health record officers. 

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He further disclosed that imposters posing as health records officers would be fully prosecuted, even as erring health information officers would be made to face disciplinary action. 

Said he: “By law, it is the National Bureau of Statistics that provides data on health indices and other relevant data on the country. 

“For health records officers, we collect data based on patients coming to hospitals. Even at that level, we have challenges because people who are not trained to collect data are engaged to this. 

“Owing to this, you struggle to get quality data, either from our tertiary hospitals and institutions or the departments of planning.  

“Until when we begin to strengthen the departments of records in our institutions, by engaging trained record managers, we will continue to hear the question as to why we rely on international organisations for accurate data.”