Lightwave E-Healthcare Solutions Limited has strongly denied allegations made by the Minister of Health, Hon. Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, regarding the management of Ghana’s National E-Healthcare Programme and the Lightwave Health Information Management System (LHIMS).
In a detailed statement issued in Accra, the company described the Minister’s comments, made in Parliament on October 28 and reiterated at the Presidency’s Accountability Series on October 29, as false, misleading, and damaging to Ghana’s e-health progress.
Lightwave, which designed and implemented the LHIMS platform, said its statement aims to correct “inaccurate claims” and reaffirm its commitment to transparency, data sovereignty, and the continuity of healthcare digitisation in Ghana.
The company emphasised that it is fully Ghanaian-owned, incorporated in 2015, and employs over 150 local staff. Its sister firm, Lightwave E-Healthcare Services LLC, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is also owned by the same Ghanaian shareholder.
According to Lightwave, it successfully executed Phase One of the National E-Healthcare Project in 2017, covering 23 health facilities in the Central Region, including Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. Following this, the government approved Phase Two in 2019, valued at US$100 million, to roll out the system across 950 facilities nationwide.
Responding to claims that Ghanaians’ electronic medical records were being managed from India, the company insisted that all patient data is securely housed in Ghana. The Ministry of Health retains full ownership and control of the central data repository within its data centre.
“The healthcare data of Ghanaians remains the property of the Ministry of Health. It is neither managed nor stored in India or any foreign location,” the statement said.
While the LHIMS software remains Lightwave’s intellectual property, the Ministry was granted a usage licence for the duration of the contract, in line with international software licensing standards.
Addressing claims that the company had executed less than 50 percent of the project despite receiving 77 percent of the contract value, Lightwave said the assertion misrepresented the facts. The contract assigned different financial weights to deployments at various categories of health facilities, with teaching and regional hospitals accounting for a higher percentage of the contract value.
“As of December 31, 2024, Lightwave had fully deployed the system in all four teaching hospitals, six regional hospitals, and 243 district hospitals—representing about 72 percent of the contract value,” the company explained.
Lightwave added that delays were largely due to the Ministry’s delayed payments, some exceeding 10 months, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company also refuted claims that no payments were owed, revealing that it had not been paid for eight months of post-contract work despite assurances from the Ministry. In addition, Lightwave has carried out extra work valued at approximately US$25 million outside the original contract scope, including systems integration with the National Health Insurance Authority, banks, pharmacies, and the Births and Deaths Registry, none of which has been compensated.
The LHIMS platform continues to operate in over 200 facilities, including Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Eastern Regional Hospital, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, and Walewale District Hospital.
Lightwave expressed disappointment at the current impasse but reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate with the Ministry to complete outstanding installations and maintain system integrity.
“The LHIMS platform has served Ghana effectively for nearly nine years. It remains one of the continent’s most robust e-health systems. We hope this clarification ends speculation and allows for a constructive resolution,” the statement concluded.
Source: Adomonline
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