CMD Seeks Digitisation Of Healthcare Services

Chief medical director (CMD) of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Professor Jesse Otegbayo, has advocated deployment of appropriate resources to achieve digitalisation of healthcare in Nigeria.

The UCH boss who stated this at the signing of an agreement with Online Health Company (OHEALTH), an Ibadan-based telemedicine outfit, said digitalisation of healthcare is possible, saying if it could be achieved in other countries, it is achievable in Nigeria also.

Otegbayo called for determination and deployment of appropriate resources to achieve digitalisation of healthcare.

He said, “With the University College Hospital, this is the first time we are signing an MoU that has a kind of total package – electronic medical record, e-consultation, tele-health- all combined which we are going to be using for our Private Suites.

“This will make a seamless provision for consultation, retrieval of information and other services. It is  paperless. That will save cost, make us go digital, which is the trend now in our healthcare services”.

He urged OHEALTH to justify the confidence reposed in it and live up to expectations.

The CMD said, “They should not fail us. We have read about their capability, and what they have been doing in terms of tele-health. They have a track record which we are satisfied with”.

On telemedicine, Otegbayo explained that, “Digitalisation of healthcare is achievable. That is where the world is going. In many advanced countries, you don’t see them recorded on any paper. If it could be done in other places,  it can be done in Nigeria.

The chief executive officer of OHEALTH, Dr. Temitope Farombi, said the scope of the partnership was to help the suites with patients’ information management, virtual consultation, tele-medicine and a payment collection system.

The consultant neurologist, who described the agreement as a milestone, said everything within the system is what OHEALTH is digitising.