By: Staff Reporter | www.thepointafricanews.com | Monrovia
Monrovia, Liberia — OneHealth Africa Corporation has officially initiated the rollout of a Unified Digital Health Record System in Liberia, marking a significant step toward modernizing the country’s healthcare delivery and addressing long-standing challenges associated with fragmented medical records.
The initiative is being led by OneHealth EHR, a health technology company focused on developing electronic health record systems tailored for Liberia and the wider African continent.
Speaking during the launch discussions, Mr. Richmond Appleton, President and Chief Executive Officer of OneHealth EHR, said the company was founded to respond to a critical gap in healthcare delivery across Liberia and Africa — the absence of reliable, connected patient data.
“Across Liberia and many parts of Africa, healthcare providers are doing the best they can, often with scattered data and no clear view of a patient’s medical history,” Appleton said. “OneHealth EHR exists to help doctors make safe, secure, and informed decisions by digitizing medical records and bringing them into one trusted system.”
According to Appleton, the lack of unified health records often leaves doctors without access to essential information such as prior diagnoses, chronic conditions, medication history, or immunization records. This, he explained, leads to duplicated tests, delayed treatment, and in some cases, incorrect medical decisions.
The OneHealth EHR platform is designed as a centralized digital database that aggregates patient information from multiple points of care — including hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and pharmacies — into a single, accessible record.
Under the system, healthcare providers can retrieve a patient’s full medical history using a secure search function, allowing them to review clinical notes, lab results, medication use, allergies, family medical history, and prior treatments regardless of where the patient previously received care.
Appleton emphasized that the unified system goes beyond record storage by incorporating clinical logic and alert mechanisms that support evidence-based care.
He explained that the platform can automatically flag gaps in care — such as missed childhood immunizations, overdue maternal checkups, or required screenings for adults and elderly patients — based on age, gender, and national health regulations.
“If information is never captured, it never happened,” Appleton noted. “Our system helps providers identify gaps in care instantly, so no patient falls through the cracks simply because records were kept on paper.”
By reducing time spent searching through files, he said, doctors and nurses can focus more on patient care — a critical factor in time-sensitive medical situations.
Appleton, a Liberian by birth, said the decision to launch the system in Liberia was both personal and strategic.
“Liberia is home. We want Liberia to serve as a case study — a model that shows how digital health systems can work effectively in Africa,” he said.
He added that empowering patients with clear information about their conditions also enables them to take greater responsibility for managing chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension.
Dr. John T. Wulu Jr., Chairman of the Board of Directors of OneHealth EHR Africa Corporation, described the initiative as a transformative step for Liberia’s healthcare infrastructure.
Dr. Wulu said the Board is responsible for providing governance, oversight, and strategic direction to ensure the system supports healthcare delivery while complying with national regulations.
“Our mandate is to deploy, sustain, and govern an integrated electronic health record system that improves patient monitoring, data quality, and accountability across hospitals and clinics,” he said.
He emphasized that data privacy, security, and patient consent are central pillars of the system, noting that sensitive personal and medical information will be protected in accordance with applicable laws and ethical standards.
According to Dr. Wulu, the platform also supports interoperability, allowing authorized healthcare providers in different locations to securely access patient records when necessary, improving continuity of care nationwide.
Over the next several years, OneHealth Africa Corporation expects the system to improve operational efficiency in healthcare facilities, strengthen provider–patient relationships, and place patients at the center of care delivery.
Both Appleton and Wulu stressed that the success of the initiative will depend on collaboration with healthcare institutions, government agencies, and development partners, as well as continuous training for health workers.
The rollout of the OneHealth EHR system represents a broader push to move Liberia’s healthcare sector into the digital age, aligning it with global best practices while responding to the country’s unique healthcare realities.
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