Innovators Identify Internet Connectivity as Barrier to Digital Health Solutions
Oluchi Chibuzor
Medical innovators have identified Internet connectivity as an impediment to deployment of innovative low-tech and digital health solutions in bridging major gaps in the country’s health sector.
According to them, the country must begin to provide basic infrastructure like electricity and access to the Internet to leverage technology to health centres across the country.
They stated this at a recent health sector mixer event, held in Lagos, with the theme, “Data for Life: Pioneering the Future of Digital Health And Care In Nigeria Through Data.”
Speaking at the event, which attracted medical students, government health officials, technological innovators, CEO, Techbeaver, Shina Arogundade, said Internet connectivity still remains a barrier to deploying digital health solutions in primary health care centres.
He explained that innovators would continue to innovate solutions that will enhance health delivery, noting the basic infrastructure must be put in place for the health system to leverage such innovations.
According to him, “So say, for instance, for labs, you go to a lab to do a test, it’s paper-based, things get missing, records get missing, there’s no centralized records. And all this leads to one thing, lack of adequate care, lack of adequate preventive and preemptive and even post care.”
For the Head Global Expansion, Mayo Clinic, Dr. Luqmon Lawal, providing basic infrastructure like electricity and Internet is critical to the country having robust healthcare.
“How do you want to even provide basic care, not to talk of digital healthcare? Electricity is key for us to really be able to have robust digital health infrastructure to advance health outcomes. Second infrastructure that is also very key is internet access. There’s no way you can keep electronic medical records, digital healthcare without really having the right internet access.
“For high-speed internet, you want to use that for the storage of the data, for the upload of the data, as well as for sharing of the data. So high-speed internet access is very essential,” he said.
