Article Summary
- A Canadian firm in healthcare technology launches a digital healthcare platform called ‘NigComHealth’
- This will curb the drain situation of doctors which has reduced the physician-to-patient ratio to 1:5000
- NigComHealth is a telemedicine platform that will provide accessible medical consultations by licensed healthcare professionals via mobile app at any time and from any location.
The federal government has partnered with Ethnomet, a Canadian leading firm in healthcare technology, to launch a digital healthcare platform called ‘NigComHealth’ through Nigeria Communications Satellite Ltd (NigComSat).
This comes as a result of the brain drain situation of doctors which has reduced the Physician to patient ratio to 1:5000. Prof. Sahalu Junaidu, lamented this growing phenomenon.
The launch event had in attendance high-profiled dignitaries, including the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr James Christoff, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Deputy Governor, Kingsley Obiora, the Chief of Staff to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Sahalu Junaid, the Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT LTD, Engineer Tukur Lawal, the Director General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Professor MN Sambo, and members of the National House of Assembly, etc.
About NigComHealth
NigComHealth is a telemedicine platform that will provide quality healthcare to millions of Nigerians. The platform will change the way patients and healthcare providers interact by providing convenient and accessible medical consultations by licensed healthcare professionals via mobile apps at any time and from any location.
The minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami believes NigComHealth will help achieve the WHO’s recommendation. He explained that the new telemedicine platform combines innovative technology with advanced medical tools and pre-vetted licensed healthcare practitioners, enabling virtual medical visits that are secure, efficient, and personalized.
What the CEO, of Ethnomet, said
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ethnomet, Garnette Weber, emphasized the importance of telehealth services as a strategy to meet the growing demand for healthcare resources. She praised the Nigerian government for its dedication to utilising cutting-edge technologies for high-quality, widely accessible healthcare nationwide.
She said,
- “The continuous increase in the global population has resulted in a growing demand for scarce healthcare human resources, which has become a global concern for governments”.
- “Telehealth has proven effective in addressing these healthcare challenges, as indicated in the Commonwealth Fund’s International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians”.
- “In 2022, practitioners from ten countries reported that 52% of encounters would have been clinically appropriated through video interactions with patients. Thus, telehealth services improve health resource utilisation and access to care”.
Creating a more efficient and effective healthcare system
Prof. Isa Pantami, emphasized on this saying that a more efficient and effective healthcare system that would be accessible to Nigerians is what the platform can achieve.
- “This represents a stark contrast with WHO’s recommendation of 1 doctor to 600 patients. And with 218 million people to cater for, Nigeria requires at least 363,000 additional doctors to meet this target,” he lame