Edo, US physicians partner on telemedicine to reverse brain drain

The Edo State government in partnership with the Association of Nigerian Physicians in America (ANPA), on Monday, disclosed plans to set up telemedicine services to improve healthcare services to all residents amid a deficit of doctors.

The duo said the e-health service is feasible in the state and will leverage the primary healthcare centres to deliver medical care to patients at a distance using the existing broadband infrastructure.

Speaking at the flag-off of a five-day free medical outreach for residents in Benin City, in collaboration with the foreign-based doctors, Obaseki restated that his administration would sustain efforts at ensuring a resilient and equitable health system to deliver quality health care services to all Edo people.

He said the medical outreach targets 4,000 residents who would receive surgical interventions and treatments for heart, kidney, eye among other ailments.

“We are going to continue to connect with ANPA through telemedicine for them to continue to provide care for us. This mission is aimed at providing top of the range and critical medical services to ordinary Edo citizens.

“We are looking at all possibilities and resources because we have to give our people quality healthcare. There is a substantial amount of brain drain in our healthcare system today, and one of the options we are looking for is working with our brothers and sisters from America to set up telemedicine facilities.

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“Fortunately, in Edo State, particularly in Benin City, we have an extensive broadband infrastructure in place, and we are looking at the possibility in all our primary health centres since we have already brought the technologies to track cases, review them and send them to the specialist in their clinics in the United States of America, and then using the technology to intervene for the patients.

“When procedures like surgeries are required, then they can now direct the process from wherever they are. So, this is a short method to reverse the brain drain that we are witnessing in our system,” Obaseki said.

The governor, therefore, charged the beneficiaries to take advantage of the opportunity, noting that the services will continue after the end of the medical mission.

“For the thousands of those who are going to get care from the team, we expect that you should know that this is not a one-off service. When they are gone, we expect that you should continue to come to the centres where you got to care to follow up,” he said.

Christopher Okunseri, president of ANPA, on his part, pledged to work with the state government to deliver on its mandate of providing quality healthcare to citizens.

“This is very feasible, and with your phones, you can contact physicians in America from the comfort of your homes, and you can get attention immediately. You can talk about the symptoms of your conditions, and they will talk about the investigations to be carried out.

“The important thing is that we all have the technology in our hands not only to talk but also to communicate with our personal physicians, and that makes this whole process of telemedicine a reality.

“We are using the primary healthcare centres, which is an area where people can walk into without the stress of obtaining cards. There is a consulting room, you have your phones, and the electronic health record is out there, and the guy is waiting in America to diagnose your conditions and prescribe appropriate treatment for you.

“There is a fibre optics system in place that makes it easy to be able to actualise the whole idea of the telemedicine process. This is feasible. We have all put our systems in place in America.

“ANPA was the first organisation to conduct a visual medical mission to Calabar, which was done a year ago. We were able to do telemedicine, examined patients via cameras, and were diagnosed and referred for investigations,” Okunseri said.