With the widespread incidence of COVID-19 in the country and its impact on healthcare delivery, the practice of telemedicine is being advocated as one of the quickest and effective means of accessing primary
healthcare by the majority of Nigerians.
The Chief Technology Officer of MeCure, Mr. Adil Shaikh, said this recently at a webinar on, “Managing Healthcare Business During and Post Covid-19 Era,” organised by Polaris Bank.
Shaikh believes that telemedicine offers a game-changing solution to our already overstretched medical services delivery in the country if properly explored and harnessed concertedly by stakeholders, including financial institutions.
With respect to expanding coverage, improved and timely access to primary health care services, it was explained that Telemedicine provides patients the opportunity to access online consultation, prescription and delivery of prescribed drugs from certified pharmacies across Nigeria.
Shaikh, noted however, that telemedicine comes with challenges especially for providers of medical services who wish to explore the initiative; ranging from technology infrastructure, user education & general awareness and connectivity issues on the part of the consumer.
He further identified three major areas financial institutions could assist to bridge the gaps.
“Financial institutions could leverage reach as a result of their large customer base to generate awareness; innovate on digital payments and partner with health institutions,” he said.
