The Gauteng Department of Health MEC, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has hailed the digitisation of more than 800,000 patient files at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) in Soweto.

On Tuesday, the department hosted a media breakfast to reflect on the digitisation of these records at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, with plans to extend the process to other key healthcare facilities.

Nkomo-Ralehoko underscored the transformative nature of the project, which replaces traditional paper-based medical records with a secure, efficient, and accessible digital filing system

“This improves service delivery, strengthens data security, and ensures compliance with privacy standards. Beyond technology, the initiative has empowered 100 young people from local communities through skills development and employment, driving economic inclusion and ownership. These individuals will now become team leaders as the project is taken to other hospitals. Over the next 36 months, we’re digitising at least 800 million patient records across all 37 Gauteng hospitals,” she said.

The project benefited from a partnership between the department and the Mintgroup as a way to roll out the program to hospitals such as Thelle Mogoerane, Tembisa Tertiary, Steve Biko Academic,  Sebokeng, and the Tambo Memorial hospitals.

The milestone, which was noted during a media breakfast hosted at CHBAH, forms part of a bold digital transformation drive to improve efficiency, patient care, and system accountability across 37 public hospitals in the province.

Nkomo-Ralehoko said this was a great milestone for the province of Gauteng and all its patients who will benefit from an efficient file management system..

“This milestone for the 800,000 patient files here at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital Academic Hospital is part of a pilot project as it lays the foundation for upscaling the initiative to other hospitals. This is not just a typical achievement. It is a leap forward in restoring the dignity of patients in improving the desirability of the public healthcare system,” she stated.

The MEC indicated that the department intends to integrate these records into the broader Health Information System (HIS) and expanding supporting technologies such as Queue Management Systems and Radiology Image Archiving (PACS).

“These innovations further enhance patient flow, reduce overcrowding and improve the overall service turnaround times. The digitised files representing more than 42 million pages are now stored in a secure cloud environment, accessible to authorised healthcare professionals,” she added.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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