Topic: Telemedicine will boost patient-doctor relationship

The Provost of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof. Adewale Oke, has stressed the importance of telemedicine in the delivery of quality health care.

Oke said this at the college during the unveiling of the Infectious Telemdicine Centre funded by Pfizer.

The Provost noted that the centre would enable patients from all over the world to have access to quality medical facilities.

According to him, the centre will also serve as a teaching hub for medical students as well as the management of other diseases.

He said, “Telemedicine is meant to ease communication between physician and the patient. It is particularly useful where there are few or no doctors.

“With telemedicine, I can communicate with anybody around the world and share not only information but with the patient video and pictures. The patient’s real area of default can be shared with other experts to get the normal diagnosis of the patient.

“This centre will not only manage diseases but also serve as a teaching hub for students in the university.”

The coordinator of the centre and acting Head of Department, Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Dr. Rita Oladele, said most physicians do not bring their expertise in the treatment of invasive fungal infection.

She said, “Invasive fungal infection is something most doctors don’t think about and due to that, patients die unnecessarily from something preventable.

“I keep getting phone calls and most times I have to manage patients through other doctors on phone which is not very safe. So we decided to deploy telemedicine to visualise and see the patient we are trying to manage.”

Oladele added that the centre was set up to give back to the public as well as to partner media organisations to create awareness on infectious diseases and prevention.

The Managing Director of Pfizer, Dr. Osahon Omorodion, said the firm would always partner with relevant stakeholders in ensuring telemedicine thrived in Nigeria.

Topic Discussed: Telemedicine will boost patient-doctor relationship

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