Côte d’Ivoire expands digital health system with millions of patient records
Côte d’Ivoire is accelerating the digital transformation of its healthcare system, with an electronic patient record now deployed in more than 265 health facilities and millions of patient records created across the country.
The Digital Patient Record, known as DPI, is designed to replace paper-based medical records with a digital system that assigns each patient a unique identifier. Healthcare professionals in participating facilities can use the system to retrieve a patient's medical history and follow their care over time.
According to figures from the Ministry of Health's Directorate of Information Technology and Digital Health, more than 7.3 million patient records had been digitised. The system has been progressively expanded since a pilot phase launched in 2018, followed by wider deployment from 2021.
The system is intended to improve continuity of care by allowing medical information to be retrieved when patients return to the same facility or visit another health centre equipped with the platform.
At the Centre de Santé Urbain de Bélé in Boundiali, where the system became operational in June 2026, patients receive a unique identifier that allows healthcare workers to access previous treatment information during subsequent consultations. The digital system also allows health facilities to generate activity statistics directly from the platform.
The digitalisation extends beyond medical records. Côte d’Ivoire has also integrated the management of payments and hospital revenues into its digital health information system.
The Directorate of Information Technology and Digital Health reports that the digitalisation of hospital revenue collection has helped secure about 51.1 billion CFA francs ($88 million) in public revenues.
The Ministry of Health has previously said that the hospital information system helps secure financial flows entering health facilities and can increase their revenues by more than 60%, while also reducing waiting times and helping prevent errors in the management of medical services.
The programme is being supported by the World Bank as part of broader efforts to modernise Côte d’Ivoire's health system and improve access to healthcare services.
The government still faces challenges in expanding digital health infrastructure. The Ministry of Health said in April that limited connectivity among public primary healthcare facilities remained a major obstacle to the broader digital transformation of the sector.
For Côte d’Ivoire, the expansion of the digital patient record represents a shift from paper-based administration toward a national digital health infrastructure linking patient care, health data and financial management.
