The Federal government and other important stakeholders have been urged by the Association of Radiologists in Nigeria (ARIN) to boost commitment to the enhancement of healthcare service delivery, training, and research with a view to assuring international best practices.
The President of ARIN, Professor Sule Sa'idu, stated that such commitment will undoubtedly assist to reduce health tourism abroad, saving much-needed foreign currency and, perhaps, reversing the trend, during the 5th Annual General Meeting & Scientific Conference of the Association.
Sule expressed concern over the implication of brain drain, saying that menace is fast depleting the country's human resources for health.
“As we approach 2023, I appeal to all professionals to engage our politicians and other policymakers in order to proffer solutions to our challenges with a view to harnessing our God-given talents and resources so as to develop a prosperous country that can stand tall in the comity of nations.”
Corroborating his views, Chairman of the Occasion and Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan hinted that the ‘Japa’ syndrome is a global phenomenon which is not peculiar to Nigeria alone, “Ghana which is our neighbouring country lost about 3,000 registered nurses to the UK in Q3 alone. When you look at the size of Ghana and you hear that they lost 3,000 in a quarter, just imagine the implication of such on their healthcare if it happened every quarter.”
Adeduntan said that artificial intelligence could be the biggest event in this era of civilization and could also be the worst depending on its usage.
“In healthcare, artificial intelligence enables better prediction analysis, improves the efficiency of the diagnosis process, cost optimization in the provision of healthcare to patients.”
Speaking on the theme, ‘Artificial Intelligence in Radiology – Challenges, progress and opportunities in Africa’, the Keynote Speaker, Professor Daniel Alexander admonished Nigerian healthcare practitioners to embrace technology and the evolution of some of the equipment they are using in delivering healthcare services.
Alexander said that as practitioners they must be open to new ways of doing things and not be stagnant as the world waits for nobody, “the equipment you use a few years ago may be obsolete today as the world keeps researching on how to do things better.