The health record department, Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja deals with collection of data complied on a patient to assist in the clinic area of present and future treatment. It serves as communication between members of the health team.

Health records data are generated from what is documented by the health team who contributed to the treatment of the patient therefore there are required to promptly records their observation, finding, treatment and care given to patient as whatsoever is not document is assumed not done.

Short description of the department

Health record is under the clinical services of Federal Medical Centre Lokoja. It became a department after the visit of an official from the Registration Board of Nigeria paid a visit to the Centre and requested that there is need to modify the health record unit to departmental status so as to be on the same level with that of other Federal Medical Centres in the country and this modification to a departmental status was carried out in the year 2013.

Units of the department

We have six (6) health attendants attached the department and below are the existing units of the department.

• New registration and documentation unit.
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology health records unit (ANC)
• Cancer registry unit
• Ophthalmology health record unit
• Dental health record unit
• General outpatient (Family medicine triage unit)
• Central health record library unit (retrieval of case note not often done any more due to computerization on the department).
• Appointment unit (General Consultant Outpatient Unit)
• (Statistics) data processing unit
• NHIS records
• Health stationery and store
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Referral system unit
• Accident and emergency
• Adolescent
• VCT unit
• EPU unit
• Health external service code generating unit

The department is computerized. It is now an integrated electronic system containing patient information that resides in a system specially designed to support our doctors, nurses, and other allied health professionals by providing accessibility to complete and accurate data for clinical decision support system.

Non-Existing Unit

• Staff clinic (health record unit)
• Document Scanning Unit
• Training and education /Research unit
• Enquiry Unit

Duties in the department

The department runs three shifting duties as enumerated below

Infrastructural Challenges (Needs)

• A befitting health record building.
• Creation of health records unit in maternity complex and to run 24 hours services in A/E complex, creation of office space in A&E and Maternity complex to run 24 hours services.
• Common rooms (3)
• Functioning A/C and ceiling fan in all our units.