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The Select Committee on Social Services received briefings last week from the Eastern Cape, Free State and Western Cape provincial departments of health on their implementation of the Health Patient Registration System (HPRS) and action plans to address the findings of the Auditor-General for the 2023/24 financial year.

The Eastern Cape reported 98% progress in its implementation rate of the HPRS across its healthcare facilities in spite of the challenges the province faces particularly in rural areas where there is poor technological connectivity. The Eastern Cape MEC for Health who led the provincial health delegation, Ms Ntandokazi Capa said: “While we have made substantial progress, the reality is that our rural facilities struggle with connectivity, which affects service delivery.”

The committee expressed concern over the impact of connectivity issues on data integrity, with members asking, the strategies that are in place to ensure that the collected data is accurate, especially when facilities are unable to connect to the system.

The Free State provincial department of health reported a successful registration of 3.8 million patients on the provincial HPRS. The delegation highlighted areas in which there are challenges regarding the implementation of the HPRS. The areas included immovable asset register and financial governance.

The Western Cape provincial health department told the committee about their IT capabilities and integration of the HPRS with existing systems. The province has been sending daily updates from its Patient Master Index to the national system since June 2020.

The Acting Head of the Western Cape Provincial Department of Health, Dr Saadiq Karim told the committee that their IT infrastructure is among the most advanced in the country, allowing them to leverage data effectively for patient care. He highlighted the critical role of interoperability with national systems to ensure a seamless flow of information.

The Chairperson of the committee, Ms Desery Fienies, said the engagement with the provinces highlighted encouraging achievements and challenges faced by the provinces. She called for more improvements in the work that the provincial departments of health reported. She said: “The implementation of HPRS is a significant step forward, but we must address the existing challenges to realise its full potential.”