The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Correspondent
GOVERNMENT will soon introduce telemedicine to improve the nation’s health service delivery sector as the nation strives towards attaining Vision 2030, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa has said.
Officiating at the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association (MDPPZA) annual conference in Mutare recently, Minister Mutsvangwa said Government is currently running trials of technologies in telemedicine.
Telemedicine is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies.
It allows long distance patient and clinic contact, care, advice, reminders, intervention, monitoring and remote admissions.
Telemedicine is one of a series of reforms that have been instituted by Government as the country works towards attaining Vision 2030.
Minister Mutsvangwa said there is a huge investment potential in merging health delivery with technology, and urged private medical practitioners to participate in the trials that Government is conducting across the nation.
She said in terms of investments in health, Government is open for business. Minister Mutsvangwa also said private players in the health sector are becoming proactive in engaging Government in pursuing mutually beneficial partnerships, citing the move as a show of confidence in Government.
“We are moving to introduce telemedicine and Government is currently running trials of technologies in that area, so you need to ride on the back of these efforts. I hope that some of you are participating in these trials. If you are not, then you need to do so because the investment potential there is enormous.
“Investing in telemedicine is one of the pathways that are currently available for private healthcare practitioners to get into Public Private Partnerships with Government,” she said, adding that in line with National Development Strategy (NDS1), Government is committed to improving the health service delivery system.
Minister Mutsvangwa said considering that people in rural areas have to walk long distances to access health services, telemedicine is the way to go.
She said telemedicine will improve access to health services, especially for those with difficulties in mobility, the elderly and those with disabilities.
“You may recall that at independence, Government invested heavily in the health and education sectors. This consciousness towards serving the masses arose from the liberation war era where health and other social services were provided along racial lines, with the Africans being denied access to appropriate health care.
“Government has therefore maintained interest in health as a long standing desire to achieve universal access. However, over the years and due to a variety of reasons, including crippling sanctions, corruption induced mismanagement, and profiteering on the part of some unscrupulous health professionals, our once strong health delivery system was severely weakened.
“The Second Republic has a strong desire to restore this sector to its former glory, and I believe with the sort of spirit and ambition you are exhibiting, we have what it takes to get there,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
MDPPZA president, Dr Johannes Marisa, said as private medical practitioners, they will continue to be patriotic and invest in the health delivery technologies, including participating in the telemedicine trials being conducted by Government.
“Indeed there is need for PPPs between Government and private practitioners. This meeting could not have come at a more opportune time as our health sector is currently in need of investments. As private practitioners, we are ready to make those investments,” he said.
He hailed Government for joining the world in digitalising health service delivery and ensuring that people in the remote parts of the country get access to health services.
The telemedicine programme entails ensuring that rural clinics have access to specialist doctors.
Telemedicine has proved to be very helpful in the ongoing Covid-19 era as it guarantees safe access to healthcare services through virtual consultations.
