By Bashir Bello

Experts have advocated for a unified policy and guidelines to ensure that telemedicine is used to promote healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

The experts also said that for telemedicine to prosper, it must be financed by private investors or public-private partnerships to ensure quality service, protect citizens, and prevent abuse.

The Director General of Kano State Private Health Institution Agency, Prof. Salisu Ibrahim made this known during a panel of discussion organised by the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) at the ongoing national conference on telemedicine by the National Association of Community Healthcare Practitioners of Nigeria in Kano.

The Director-General said that ethical issues in telemedicine must be thoroughly investigated to protect citizens from the abuse of technology in healthcare delivery, adding that it is necessary to have laws, unified policies, and registration to operate.

Prof. Ibrahim while emphasizing on benefits of telemedicine, said that it is not just a solution but the fastest and most effective way to bridge the gap in human resources for health in Nigeria and provide healthcare delivery to Nigerians and regulating it remains the only option to ensure its effectiveness.

Other experts on the panel from academia, civil society organisations, government agencies, and donors also unanimously agreed that investing in telemedicine and providing a unified policy for telemedicine is not just a good idea but a critical step in bridging the gap and enhancing the quality of healthcare services across the country and preventing cyber threats that could affect the health sector.

In his remarks, Registrar of the National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria, Alh Bashir Idris, revealed that integrating technology in the provision, treatment, and diagnosis of disease burden in Nigeria is not just a possibility but a near reality. “This is due to technology’s transformative potential to significantly enhance healthcare delivery efficiency, which should inspire optimism among stakeholders.

“In line with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the board has adopted technology in the practice of community health in Nigeria and is working to improve training in digital medicine pre and post-practice to support efforts to bridge the gaps in healthcare delivery across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria,” he said.

While assuring that the over 200,000 registered community health practitioners in Nigeria will continue to be trained in deploying technology in healthcare delivery, he called on governments at the subnational levels to invest in technology to improve healthcare services for the teeming populace in their states.

In his presentation, e-health360 Chief Business Development Officer, Dr. Najib Usman described the adoption of technology in healthcare delivery as capable of providing an additional 60% access compared to physical accessibility.

He said using blockchain technology can solve the recurring challenges in healthcare and medical education in Nigeria, adding that it is imperative for the nation and all 36 subnational to see technology as the only mechanism for bridging the location gap and enhancing the health of the citizens.

Earlier, in his presentation, the Director of Partnership at the development Research and Projects Centre, Malam Hassan Aliyu Karofi disclosed that the decision to support the workshop is to explore the value of integrating telemedicine into the Coordinating Minister’s PHC framework as a way to add public opinion in the development and provision of healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

He described the theme of the 2024 annual workshop on strengthening the Nigerian healthcare system and the role of community health practitioners as a welcome development, especially as the nation is facing a depletion of trained healthcare personnel due to migration and the search for greener pastures.

He said that telemedicine could address existing healthcare delivery challenges, improve access to quality care, and strengthen the overall health system, adding that regulatory, technical, and ethical considerations to improve and infuse technology into healthcare delivery are necessary to implement telemedicine effectively at the PHC level.

On his part, the Director, Medical Services, Kano State Ministry of Health, Shehu Abdullahi said the state government has allocated the sum of N100 million for telemedicine in the 2024 budget and so it is leveraging on the telemedicine to reach people at the rural areas and hard to reach areas.