SMART Zambia national coordinator Percy Chinyama says the country must move towards a fully digital health records system to eliminate physical patient files and improve continuity of care across medical facilities.
Speaking during a media brief yesterday, Chinyama said the country must reach a stage where patients no longer carry paper files between hospitals.
“We have to reach a point where there is no need for someone to move with a file. They should be able to go to any hospital and their records are retrieved digitally,” Chinyama said.
The transition is being driven through the SmartCare Pro electronic health records system, which is being deployed across health facilities nationwide.
Chief technical officer Kasali Musenge said digital records improve treatment accuracy by ensuring that doctors have instant access to patient histories.
“This means that when you access medical services, the doctor is able to retrieve your records at the touch of a button and provide the correct services,” Musenge said.
She added that Smart Zambia is aiming to ensure that there is connectivity in the health facilities
“Currently, we have connectivity in over 50 of the health facilities available,” said Musenge.
The shift to electronic health records is expected to reduce lost files, improve patient tracking, and support health data analytics for policy planning.
Currently 2,054 health facilities have been connected through Smart Care Pro with 12 million already registered.
“So even just looking at Lusaka Province, we have about 1.7 million women who are registered in the smart care system, and about 1.1 million males registered already,” according to the Ministry of Health director of ICT.
Meanwhile, Smart Zambia will be building a national digital identity ecosystem that will strengthen access to public services, taxation, insurance and financial transactions.
“This digital ID is not just for identification; it will be used to consume services, access insurance, pay taxes and interact with government systems,” Chinyama said.
He explained that the system will enable authorities to identify and support specific groups of citizens more accurately, improving the efficiency of subsidies and social programmes.
Digital identity is seen as a critical pillar of Zambia’s digital transformation because it secures online transactions and prevents identity fraud.
Government plans to issue four million digital IDs by 2030, under the Digital Zambia Acceleration Project, funded with US$100 million support from the World Bank to expand digital infrastructure and e-government services.
Kalemba March 25, 2026
