Why Nigerian doctors must embrace technology -Experts

Medicine has continued to change at an unprecedented pace right from the first industrial revolution to the fourth industrial revolution.

And for healthcare professionals especially the medical doctors to deliver topnotch services and also, maintain leadership role in the sector, they need to embrace Information and Communication, Technology, ICT.

This charge came at the weekend when the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Lagos branch held a three-day Leadership Retreat in Ikeja with a theme: ‘The 21st Century Nigerian Medical and Dental Practitioners; Leadership, Opportunities and Threats’

Speaking at the forum, former Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos,  Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, charged the doctors to up their game by embracing technology noting that most doctors are notoriously resistant to change.

Ogunsola who is a Consultant Clinical Microbiologist, said ICT has changed the role of the doctor in terms of the doctor-patient relationship as well as the doctor and other healthcare worker- relationships.

She said any medical professional in the 21st century who does not think technology is already irrelevant

She said doctors we must do better if they are to deliver on the promise of personalized high quality, holistic-patient care and maintain their leadership role

According to her, technology has democratise knowledge and no knowledge exclusively belongs to doctors.

She said: “There was increasing professionalism and knowledge in the other professions in health as well as the administrators and that started to create tension within the healthcare workers.

“For doctors to keep that supremacy role, our knowledge base has to go up, our skills and competencies must rise because our leadership role is going to come from what we know..

“Technology is a major disuptor, and it’s still going to disrupt more and some of our professions might actually disappear. If we don’t wake up, we will be disadvantaged,” she charged. 

Ogunsola explained that doctors also need  learning skills which include critical thinking, creative, collaboration and good communication skills.

Also, in life skills, she said doctors must be flexible, have leadership, initiative, productivity and social skills.

Also in her remarks, First Lady of Lagos State, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, noted that the challenge doctors must constantly take into cognisant and address is how to take optimal advantage of technology to improve service delivery in medical practice.

She said: “We must embrace technology which requires total overhaul of our system and serious management to ensure proficiency in the system.

“We must deploy digitally enabled system and innovations in providing care, these and others should be in our minds as we work to reposition health sector for improved service delivery,” First Lady added.

Earlier in his speech, Chairman, NMA Lagos, Dr. Adetunji Adenekan, said the theme of the programme was well thought out especially at this point when the sector is experiencing enormous challenges emanating from conglomerate of issues like inter and intra professional leadership related crisis, threats of all forms including brain drain phenomenon among others.