Digital feedback platform launched to tackle poor patient experience, maternal care gaps

By Chioma Obinna

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s health sector have called for urgent reforms driven by technology and patient feedback, as a new digital platform designed to capture real-time experiences across hospitals nationwide was unveiled in Lagos.

The platform, MyVoiceMyHealth, is expected to address long-standing challenges in patient care, including poor service delivery, weak accountability, and limited data for decision-making.

Speaking at the launch, Director/CEO of MyVoiceMyHealth, Mr. Kunle Thomas, said the initiative marks a shift from rhetoric to action in improving healthcare delivery.

“We are not just discussing reimagining healthcare through effective, dynamic, and technology-enabled patient experience, we are backing it up with action,” he said. “This is possibly one of the first nationwide digital platforms for collecting feedback from patients, their families, carers, and even healthcare workers.”

Thomas explained that the platform enables users to report experiences anonymously in English and major Nigerian languages, noting that the goal is to build a culture where patients speak up rather than remain silent.

“We want to move away from a system where people ‘leave it to God’ or resort to ‘Holy Ghost fire’ instead of giving feedback,” he said. “By collecting and analysing this data, we can inform policy and ensure continuous improvement.”

He added that the data generated would help identify what is working, what is failing, and where urgent interventions are needed across health facilities.

The initiative, developed by Patient Academy International, is structured around four key objectives: promoting a culture of feedback, creating a safe and user-friendly reporting system, generating actionable data analytics, and supporting advocacy and resolution for critical cases.

“With the right use of data, we can begin to fix what has long been ignored,” Thomas said.

“This is about giving every Nigerian a voice and ensuring that voice leads to better healthcare outcomes.”

Representing the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Mohammad Ali- Pate, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo at the event said the Federal Government sees patient feedback as central to ongoing health sector reforms.

“Improving patient experience is critical to building trust, accountability, and quality of care. Digital platforms like MyVoiceMyHealth have the potential to support real-time feedback and data-driven decision-making across both public and private health facilities.”

The government also stressed the need for strong regulatory oversight, data protection, and alignment with national systems such as the National Health Information System (NHMIS).

Experts at the event noted that Nigeria’s healthcare system has long struggled with inadequate data, making it difficult to track service gaps or enforce standards effectively.

During a live demonstration, Head of Digital Platforms and Innovation at i4nnova, Mrs. Adeola Alao, showed how users can log complaints, compliments, and safety incidents, select facilities from a growing database of over 50,000 centres, and upload voice notes or evidence.

“If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. This platform helps us identify not just the problems, but the people affected and the context, which is critical for solving them.”

According to her, early data from pilot users already highlights recurring issues such as staff attitude, communication gaps, and critical errors, underscoring the need for systemic reforms.

She added that the platform’s analytics dashboard allows policymakers and health administrators to track trends, prioritise interventions, and monitor performance across facilities.

Health policy experts at the event said such innovations could also help tackle deeper systemic issues, including maternal mortality, poor patient satisfaction, and weak health governance.

They emphasised that beyond technology, sustained collaboration between government, private sector, and civil society will be required to translate feedback into measurable improvements.