The federal authorities and healthcare stakeholders have referred to as for the nationwide expansion of telemedicine services to enhance entry to high quality healthcare, notably for individuals in rural and underserved communities.
The stakeholders made the decision on Tuesday on the Nigerian Telehealth Conference 2.0, organised by Mobihealth International in Abuja.
The convention, themed “The Future of Healthcare is Connected: Click and Brick,” introduced collectively authorities officers, healthcare professionals, regulators, and private-sector representatives to debate methods to maneuver telemedicine past pilot initiatives to wider implementation.
Speaking on the occasion, the Special Adviser to the President on Health, Salma Ibrahim-Anas, stated integrating digital expertise with current healthcare amenities may assist deal with obstacles to accessing medical services.
Ms Ibrahim-Anas stated the longer term of healthcare lies in integrating digital expertise with skilled experience and bodily well being amenities to ship linked, accessible, and inexpensive high quality services for residents nationwide.
“It captures an essential truth: the future of healthcare lies in combining the reach and convenience of digital technology with human touch, professional expertise, and the physical infrastructure of health facilities,” she stated.
She emphasised that President Bola Tinubu was pursuing an agenda centered on strengthening well being methods, increasing entry to important services, enhancing healthcare financing, revitalising major healthcare and advancing UHC nationwide.
However, she recognized unreliable electrical energy, poor web connectivity, insufficient financing, and regulatory issues as challenges that have to be addressed earlier than telemedicine might be applied successfully nationwide.
“As we work towards nationwide implementation of telemedicine, we must address practical foundations: reliable electricity, connectivity, sustainable financing, regulation, interoperability of health systems, data privacy, and cybersecurity,” she stated.
She defined that telemedicine may assist pregnant ladies, moms, and sufferers in distant communities by connecting them with healthcare professionals, specialists, and referral services for well timed, high quality care nationwide. However, cautioned that telehealth should not be seen as a alternative for healthcare staff, diagnostics, important medicines, and emergency services wanted to ship high quality affected person care successfully.
“Telehealth is not simply about deployment; it is not a replacement for our competent health workers,” she stated, emphasising that human experience remained central to high quality healthcare supply.
She emphasised that whereas expertise issues, healthcare supply should retain compassion, empathy, {and professional} judgment to make sure patient-centred, high quality services throughout Nigeria for all residents.
“As health professionals, we have to have that human touch to it,” she stated, urging compassion, empathy and professionalism in delivering linked digital well being services nationwide for residents.
She additionally referred to as for inclusive digital well being services that may profit rural communities, ladies, individuals with disabilities, aged individuals and Nigerians with restricted digital literacy nationwide.
She urged stakeholders to measure the success of digital well being initiatives by impression on individuals’s lives reasonably than the quantity of platforms created, emphasising outcomes, fairness and accessibility for residents.
Moving past pilot initiatives
Earlier, Mobihealth International’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Funmi Adewara, stated Nigeria had reached a crucial stage in creating the insurance policies and regulatory frameworks wanted to increase telemedicine services.
Mrs Adewara described validating the nation’s first nationwide telemedicine guideline as an necessary milestone towards enhancing entry to distant healthcare services.
“Technology can help us to collapse the distance between a doctor and a patient, regardless of their geography,” she stated, highlighting the potential of digital well being to increase equitable entry nationwide.
She stated partnerships with authorities establishments, together with the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Authority, have been necessary to combine telemedicine into the well being system and scale back monetary obstacles for residents.
Adedolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, stated involving regulators, lawmakers, officers, and personal sector gamers was important to creating a sustainable telemedicine system.
Ms Fasawe stated Nigeria wants a framework to information digital well being follow whereas guaranteeing accountability and accessibility for residents looking for high quality, inexpensive healthcare services by telemedicine platforms nationwide.
“We do not have enough healthcare professionals. However, when we are talking to patients through telemedicine, healthcare is more accessible, more affordable, and we cut out travel time,” she stated.
She added that the federal government couldn’t obtain digital well being transformation alone, emphasising the necessity for partnerships and stakeholder collaboration to drive sustainable innovation, fairness, and entry nationwide.
Fatima Kyari, Registrar and CEO of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, stated regulation remained crucial to making sure affected person security and sustaining skilled requirements in telemedicine follow.
Ms Kyari stated the council was dedicated to creating a system that retains healthcare professionals accountable whereas expertise improves service supply and expands entry to high quality healthcare.
“Let us ensure that the future of telemedicine is not merely technological advancement, but professionally responsible and ethically grounded,” she stated, calling for accountability, security {and professional} integrity nationwide.
Oyebanji Filani, Chairperson of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum and Ekiti Commissioner for Health, stated expertise may remodel healthcare supply however should not weaken accountability {and professional} requirements nationwide.
“Telemedicine is not medicine without accountability. It is proper medicine delivered through another channel,” Filani stated, emphasising accountable follow, regulation and affected person security in digital well being supply nationwide.
(NAN)
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