Director – general of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Dr. Obi Adigwe, has called on critical stakeholders in the health sector to consider the use of Artificial Intelligence to enhance healthcare delivery in the country.
The DG made the call while presenting a paper at the 4th Annual Scientific Conference of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), with the theme: Innovations in Science and Technology for Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria, in Abuja.
He explained that AI has the capacity to improve opportunities and create more efficiency by mimicking human intelligence through computer manipulated algorithmic exploration of contextual databases.
The DG disclosed that NIPRD has put in place strategies to ensure that scientists, policymakers and other stakeholders adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in conceptualising and implementing healthcare delivery reforms.
He noted that the NIPRD’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory will be capacitated to enable interventions in patient diagnosis.
This, according to him, will consequently reduce pressure on physicians by working through vast quantities of information to deliver higher quality patient care at reduced costs.
He further explained that the NIPRD’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory will support the development of interventions that enhance all levels of healthcare workflow and practice, including workflow optimization, support for interpretation tasks, quality and safety, and operational efficiency.
“Introducing Artificial Intelligence interventions for centralized medical record database will unlock potential value for the healthcare ecosystem by providing up- to-date, accurate and complete information for more coordinated and efficient patient care.
“Similarly, the automation of other mundane and repetitive tasks in the healthcare ecosystem will free up healthcare professionals to tackle more complex problems.
“This is especially pertinent in Nigeria, given the low professional to patient ratio, across all relevant disciplines,” Adigwe stressed.
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