Build a hospital software shortlist in Nigeria from the work you need

Write the difficult task before writing a supplier's name. If staff cannot explain a patient's remaining balance at handover, put that scenario in the brief. A shortlist built from the hospital's work is easier to defend than one built from the longest feature list.

Ask the colleagues doing registration, billing and clinical documentation which outcomes they need. The owner then decides which are required for a purchase and which can remain outside the system under an agreed routine.

Separate a requirement from a preference

A requirement might be that an authorised colleague can find the correct returning patient's record. A preference might concern the appearance of the queue. Both deserve discussion, but a preference should not outweigh a missing task the hospital cannot safely work around.

Record the devices staff use, the connection available at each working point and the person who can support them. For a Nigerian practice, cash and transfer recording, locally usable contact routes and support hours expressed for the hospital's timezone can make the buying questions more concrete. Check what applies to your own practice rather than assuming every hospital works the same way.

The Nigerian EHR implementation study by Adedeji and colleagues describes equipment, funding and organisational conditions in one public primary-care setting. It is a reason to examine implementation needs, not evidence that one supplier is best for private hospitals.

Ask each supplier for comparable evidence

Send the same requirements brief and ask for a written response. Mark shown, documented, discussed only or unanswered against each requirement. A marketing page can suggest a question for a demonstration; it cannot substitute for that exercise.

Use fictional records and the same task boundaries in each meeting. Include an ordinary case and an exception worth checking. Ask for the full written cost and support scope after the demonstration, including the obligations assigned to the hospital.

Keep an unresolved requirement visible. Do not mark it absent merely because the presenter did not show it, or present it as available because the sales description sounds similar.

Bring the shortlist to the owner with the evidence and the remaining decision questions. Use the demo observation sheet so a colleague who missed the meetings can understand why each option remains under consideration.