Lagos State, Interswitch Sign MoU, Launches Smart Health Platform “LAGSHIP” to Improve Healthcare Delivery

The Lagos State Government (LASG) has partnered with Interswitch, a leading African technology company, to develop a new digital platform aimed at revolutionizing healthcare delivery in the state. This platform, called the Lagos Smart Health Information Platform (LAGSHIP), will address key challenges in the Lagos healthcare system.

It has been reported that Nigeria’s healthcare system faces significant issues, including a lack of funding and a fragmented service structure. This often leads to inefficiencies, limited transparency, and difficulty for residents to access healthcare services.

What is LAGSHIP: A Digital Solution

LAGSHIP aims to bridge these gaps by creating a unified healthcare ecosystem. Here’s what it will offer:

Secure Data Management: Electronic medical records from hospitals (public and private) across Lagos will be stored securely on the platform. This centralized data will improve decision-making for both medical professionals and policymakers.

Enhanced Patient Experience: Patients will have easier access to their medical data, allowing them to make more informed healthcare decisions. LAGSHIP also aims to eliminate payment barriers, encouraging residents to utilize the healthcare system more actively.

Improved Communication: The platform will connect patients with doctors, healthcare providers with public offices, and patients with their medical data. This will streamline communication and improve overall service delivery.

A Public-Private Partnership Model

The LASG-Interswitch partnership marks a unique model for collaboration between government and private entities in African healthcare. Interswitch, with its expertise in digital transactions and technology platforms, will leverage their experience to create a robust technological infrastructure for LAGSHIP.

Speaking on this, Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu, the governor of Lagos State, highlighted the significance of the Lagos State Smart Health Information Platform Project as one unprecedented in Nigeria till date.

The Governor, in his remarks said, the platform represents a significant and innovative approach to utilizing technology for accessing health information.It is poised to deliver numerous benefits and eliminate payment barriers.”

Governor Sanwoolu further remarked that “I believe that this platform represents a significant and innovative approach to utilizing technology for accessing health information. It is poised to deliver numerous benefits and eliminate payment barriers, thereby encouraging citizens to actively engage with the process.”

Commenting after the signing ceremony, which was jointly signed by the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Akin Abayomi and the Special Adviser to The Governor on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), Mrs. Bukola Odoe, and witnessed by the Executive Governor and selected members of the Lagos State Executive Council at the State House, Marina, Mitchell Elegbe, the founder and group managing director/chief executive officer of Interswitch Group said, We are highly delighted to partner with the Lagos State Government. to digitize the healthcare system, uniting disparate elements into one holistic platform

Also speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr. Wallace Ogufere, the managing director for Interswitch eClat, Interswitch’s Healthtech Venture, opined that the Lagos State Government’s pioneering initiative in the form of LAGSHIP is significant in terms of advancing the outlook for Healthcare Management and Administration in a frontier-market such as Nigeria, and moving closer to what obtains in developed economies.

In his words “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.”

This partnership between the Lagos State Government and Interswitch represents a unique model for public-private partnership in the healthcare delivery space, and one which is expected to be a veritable reference point for national and sub-national governments in Africa going forward.