[Photo: Supplied]

Fiji’s correctional health system is set for a major digital upgrade with the launch of the Patient Information System Plus, or PATISPlus, at the Fiji Corrections Service in Suva.

Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa says PATISPlus will connect correctional health services with Fiji’s wider national health information system, strengthening continuity of care, clinical decision-making and patient outcomes.

Ravunawa says people in custody remain entitled to health care delivered with dignity, confidentiality and professional respect.

“Correctional health is also public health. The majority of people serving sentences will eventually return to their families, to their homes, to their communities. Their health needs to do not begin at the correctional gate, nor do they end there.”

The system is also expected to provide better data on diseases, medicines, staffing, equipment and referral needs across correctional facilities.

Ravunawa says this will help the Government better plan health services and allocate resources where they are needed most.

However, he has warned that the success of PATISPlus will depend on how accurately and responsibly the system is used.

He says patient information must remain strictly confidential.

Ravunawa says the real test starts now, with the impact of the system to be measured over the next six months, 12 months and beyond by whether it actually improves patient care.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Corrections Auta Moceisuva says correctional facilities remain vulnerable to emerging diseases.

Moceisuva says PATISPlus will help Corrections manage health information more effectively and ensure continuity of treatment, including when inmates are released from custody.

He says the digital system is a significant step forward in strengthening health care across Fiji’s correctional facilities.