Speakers at the HealthCare Business Conference (HBC) of the Medic West Africa Exhibition and Congress, held in Lagos, South West Nigeria, expressed no doubt that technological innovation will help bring healthcare services to millions of citizens in the subregion, moreso in Nigerians.
Dr. Chibuzo Opara, Co-CEO, DrugStoc, said that advanced medical technology can improve the standard of medical practice in Nigeria saying that that can be done through the introduction of innovative ,high quality affordable and state-of-the art medical equipment.
Beyond the impact of technological innovation on the health sector, the practitioners also had the opportunity to examine the issue of business management alongside bookkeeping skills.
Highlighting the essence of business management, Country Director, Iqvia and Board Member of Healthcare Foundation of (HFN), Mr. Remi Adesuen said that most members of the HFN are in the SMEs sector of the economy and they offer primary healthcare services to Nigeria contrary to the notion that primary healthcare is that of government.
According to him, over 70 percent of Nigerians access their healthcare through the private sector noting that 60 percent of the practitioners are SMEs, who needs business skills and technology to give the required medical care.
He said that the HBC which was held in partnership with Anadach Group was designed to give its members attending the Medic West Africa Exhibition and Conference access to knowledge on business planning, model and innovative approach to healthcare business.
Besides those, he said that the SMEs were taking through the rudiments of bookkeeping and the regulatory laws of the several agencies that they deal with so that they don’t go against the laws of their operating environment.
He stated that the deployment of digital technology is the best adoption for the SMEs in today’s health sector particularly as the business began to grow.
Adeseun advised that the SMEs common together to access some basic services that bother on accounting, business and other related services so that the cost of those services can be reduced for them.
He called on them to look for opportunities of partnership or collaboration with other players in the public or private sector that would bring the benefit of economy of scales to bear on their businesses and improve the nation’s healthcare.
According to him, although health is a social services, the era when it was run entirely as social service has ended and as such it must be run presently as a business for the services to be sustainable.
He stated if enough fund is not generated to cover the source of fund for the business wither it is government or private, the free health will fail because there will be no longer materials for the business.
To avoid such scenario, he suggested the health insurance scheme which he said has proved effective in most advanced countries of the world saying that the Nigeria health insurance scheme has failed because it was not mandatory.
First Vice President of HFN, Dr. Festus Osoba disclosed that the Foundation is an advocacy group enable the private sector healthcare practitioner to speak with one voice in the country saying that this year it is focusing on the business aspect of healthcare services.
He noted that they are concern about the impact of technological innovation in the sector noting that was why in one of presentation focus was on electronic data, investment in data management as well as implementation and project management since data can help them grow their businesses.
He added that HFN wants their members to be patient-centric and the right of the patient protected so that the healthcare system meets global standard.
Nenye Dom/Editor
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L-R: Dr. Egbe Osifo-Dawodu, Partner Anadach,Mrs. Bimbo Ogunare Senior Manager, Ernest& Young, Dr. Abayomi Sule, Managing Director, Tillit MSME Microservice, Mr Remi Adesuen, Country Director, Iqvia and Board Member of Healthcare Foundation of (HFN).
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