Board seeks stronger collaboration on health information management training

The Health Records Officers’ Registration Board of Nigeria (HRORBN) has called for deeper collaboration between health information management (HIM) training institutions and healthcare facilities to improve the quality of education and practice in the profession. Speaking on Monday in Abuja at the 2025 Annual Meeting and Retreat for Coordinators of HIM Training Institutions, the Registrar/Chief […]

The Health Records Officers’ Registration Board of Nigeria (HRORBN) has called for deeper collaboration between health information management (HIM) training institutions and healthcare facilities to improve the quality of education and practice in the profession.

Speaking on Monday in Abuja at the 2025 Annual Meeting and Retreat for Coordinators of HIM Training Institutions, the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Board, Alhaji Babagana Mustapha, said such collaboration was essential for producing graduates who are well prepared for the demands of modern healthcare.

The retreat brought together stakeholders from training institutions across the country to discuss strategies for advancing the profession.

Mustapha said the theme of the retreat, “Collaboration between Training Institutions and Healthcare Facilities for Training HIM Students,” was timely.

“Quality health information is the backbone of effective healthcare delivery, policy formulation, and national planning,” he stated. “To achieve excellence in HIM, we must ensure our students receive not only sound academic instruction but also practical, real-world exposure within healthcare facilities.”

He stressed that aligning training institutions with service providers would produce graduates who are “not only technically proficient but also attuned to the operational realities of modern healthcare systems.” According to him, such synergy would strengthen professional ethics and improve the overall capacity of the health records workforce nationwide.

The Registrar urged participants to deliberate on practical frameworks for collaboration. He listed options such as formal memoranda of understanding, joint curriculum reviews, enhanced supervision of students in clinical settings, and shared research initiatives.

“Together, we can create a sustainable model that benefits students, institutions, healthcare facilities, and indeed, the health sector at large,” Mustapha said.

“As a Board, we remain committed to strengthening the synergy between our regulatory oversight functions and academic institutions.”

He noted that HRORBN was implementing reforms to enhance standardization and capacity building. These reforms include continuous curriculum review, capacity-building workshops for academic staff, and institutional mentorship programs.

Mustapha also highlighted recent policy initiatives such as the digitalization of Board services, the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MCPD) programme, the establishment of Bachelor of Health Information Management (BHIM) programmes in universities, and ongoing efforts to secure approval for HIM tutor programmes and areas of specialization.

“The transformation we are envisaging in the health records and information management profession begins in your classrooms,” he told coordinators.

“The quality of our graduates is a reflection of the quality of education and mentorship they receive within your institutions.”

He urged training leaders to recommit to excellence, innovation, and ethical leadership, stressing that the retreat should serve as a platform to “share best practices, address challenges, and forge a unified path forward.”