Experts for incorporating ICT in health system
BSS, Dhaka :
Health experts at a dialogue have stressed the need for establishing a Health Information System (HIS) and promoting e-health to ensure better healthcare services for the people.
Information and communication technology (ICT) should be incorporated in the health system for improving service delivery as well as reducing irregularities in the health sector, they told the day-long Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday, a press release said on Thursday.
Directorate General of Health Services and Access to Information (a2i) Programme of PMO in cooperation with Johns Hopkins University, the Partnership for Maternal, New-born and Child Health (PMNCH) and World Health Organization organized the dialogue.
Principal Secretary of PMO Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Planning Syed Monjurul Islam, former Health and Family Planning Secretary Md. Humayun Kabir, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Ashraful Islam and Director General (Admin) & Project Director of a2i programme Kabir Bin Anwar, among others, attended the meeting.
Monjurul said the government has focused on launching innovative network applications using ICT for enhancing accountability and transparency of healthcare services as well as archiving of health data to ensure a digitized health system at the national and grassroots level.
“We have bright prospect of promoting e-health and m-health as Bangladesh has witnessed rapid rise of mobile penetration coupled with advances in internet connectivity in the past of couple years,” he added.
In Bangladesh, mobile phone penetration and internet penetration got an accelerated momentum in 2014. The number of mobile phone users has increased to 11.98 crore while the number of internet users has increased to 43 million.
There are nearly 16 crore people in the country, more than of 80 percent of whom live in rural area, other speakers said adding e-health and m-health could be effective systems to reach healthcare services to the rural people.
Health experts at a dialogue have stressed the need for establishing a Health Information System (HIS) and promoting e-health to ensure better healthcare services for the people.
Information and communication technology (ICT) should be incorporated in the health system for improving service delivery as well as reducing irregularities in the health sector, they told the day-long Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday, a press release said on Thursday.
Directorate General of Health Services and Access to Information (a2i) Programme of PMO in cooperation with Johns Hopkins University, the Partnership for Maternal, New-born and Child Health (PMNCH) and World Health Organization organized the dialogue.
Principal Secretary of PMO Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Planning Syed Monjurul Islam, former Health and Family Planning Secretary Md. Humayun Kabir, Executive Director of the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Ashraful Islam and Director General (Admin) & Project Director of a2i programme Kabir Bin Anwar, among others, attended the meeting.
Monjurul said the government has focused on launching innovative network applications using ICT for enhancing accountability and transparency of healthcare services as well as archiving of health data to ensure a digitized health system at the national and grassroots level.
“We have bright prospect of promoting e-health and m-health as Bangladesh has witnessed rapid rise of mobile penetration coupled with advances in internet connectivity in the past of couple years,” he added.
In Bangladesh, mobile phone penetration and internet penetration got an accelerated momentum in 2014. The number of mobile phone users has increased to 11.98 crore while the number of internet users has increased to 43 million.
There are nearly 16 crore people in the country, more than of 80 percent of whom live in rural area, other speakers said adding e-health and m-health could be effective systems to reach healthcare services to the rural people.