A Consultant Physician, Dr Femi Ogunremi, has urged stakeholders in the health sector to key into the Mobile Health (mHealth) technology to make quality healthcare accessible and available at an affordable cost.
Ogunremi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Monitor Healthcare Ltd, medical communication and technology company, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
He spoke on the side lines of the launch of Areadoc, a medical application (App) to help patients access quality healthcare from the convenience of their smartphones.
According to him, the challenges facing the mHealth platform in Nigeria include uptake by the public, involvement by the healthcare provider, and lack of funding.
“In Nigeria we under use the mHealth platform; see what has happened in the banking industry, mobile app has revolutionised the practice.
“It gives room for accountability and access. We are assuming that this will be the situation in the health sector.
“Internet by health service providers will help the project to thrive, but contrary opinion can lead to frustration.
“We are far below the WHO recommendation for the ratio of doctors to patients.
“This system will help to bridge this gap, but if not taken positively by healthcare providers in the sector, then the vision will struggle.
“There is need of the support of the government through funding to take the platform to the level where Nigerians will benefit from quality healthcare, “ he said.
The consultant, while speaking on Areadoc, a medical app, said that the app would bring patients directly in contact with qualified medics.
According to him, in cases where accessing healthcare is challenging such as remote areas, patients can now tap their phones and access medical help.
“A benefit of AreaDoc is it’s ability to connect the patient to a doctor without the inconvenience of going to the hospital.
“Through chats or calls, the doctor can at all hours deal with the client and even send an online prescription to the patient’s phone through the same app.
“The vision for this project is to get the app as a household product for Nigerians, especially the middle class.
“Also, to have doctors available 24 hours everyday of the week on the phone and chat.
“To do this, we need to build capacity meaning paying salaries and making resources available with different local dialects.
“All these will come with financial challenges. However, with government or other supports we can easily overcome these, “ Ogunremi said.
He said that the app would help in accountability and creating data.
Ogunremi said, “There is also the potential to use this system to generate data that can be valuable in the hand of our government in distribution of resources.
“For the public, this will be a life saving move; it gives opportunity for prompt medical support.
“I can see AreaDoc as a system where students can access the care they need even discretely by chatting and opportunity to talk with a doctor promptly. “
NAN reports that the WHO recommended that one doctor should attend to not more than 600 patients. (NAN)
