South African (SA) Medical Association Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mzulungile Nodikida says SA should use technology, including artificial intelligence, to help address healthcare challenges, especially in rural communities.
He says patient records should be digitised to prevent them from being lost.
He says lost medical records often make it difficult for the government to defend itself in court against malpractice claims.
He added that patient records should be accessible at all healthcare facilities throughout the country.
“With artificial intelligence now, you could have a specialist sitting anywhere in the country, connecting with a nurse or a doctor in the deep rural areas. All we need to do is invest in technology and internet access for those clinics so we can literally remotely connect the clinic to a teaching hospital. We’ve got lots of unemployed doctors. We can put them in one centre where they literally provide guidance for the deep rural clinics of our country. South Africans need a universal electronic health record so if I’m seen here at Busa Med and I somehow happen to be in Cape Town on Monday, I can go into a health facility. My history can be downloaded.”
–SABC/ChannelAfrica–
