Ayomide Awe
The Federal Government has warned against treating telemedicine as a substitute for doctors and physical healthcare facilities, insisting that digital health technology must complement medical professionals rather than replace their expertise, compassion and clinical judgement.
The government said although telemedicine could expand access to healthcare, particularly in underserved and rural communities, its effectiveness depended on integrating digital services with competent health workers, diagnostic facilities, essential medicines and emergency medical care.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Health, Dr Salma Ibrahim-Anas, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at the Nigerian Telehealth Conference 2.0, organised by Mobihealth International.
The conference was themed “The Future of Healthcare is Connected: Click and Brick.”
Ibrahim-Anas described the gathering as timely, given Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to transform its healthcare system, stressing that the country must adopt a model that combines the convenience of digital technology with accessible physical healthcare infrastructure.
“The future of healthcare is connected, click and brick,” she said, explaining that effective digital health delivery required a combination of technological innovation, professional expertise and human interaction.
She warned that the growing adoption of digital healthcare must not undermine the critical role of medical practitioners in diagnosis, treatment and patient care.
“Telehealth is not simply about deployment; it is not a replacement for our competent health workers,” the presidential aide said.
According to her, healthcare delivery involves more than providing online consultations, noting that patients still require qualified professionals, physical examinations where necessary, laboratory investigations and timely interventions in emergencies.
She maintained that technology should strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers to deliver quality services rather than displace them.
The presidential aide identified maternal, newborn and child healthcare as areas where telemedicine could make a significant difference, particularly for people living in communities with limited access to specialists.
She said digital platforms could enable pregnant women in remote areas to obtain professional guidance, receive referrals and access specialist support without having to travel long distances before getting initial medical advice.
Ibrahim-Anas stressed that geographical barriers should not prevent mothers and children from receiving appropriate healthcare guidance.
“A mother seeking advice about her infant should not be left without appropriate guidance simply because she does not have access to a specialist paediatrician in her community,” she said.
She added that the government’s health sector priorities included strengthening the healthcare system, expanding access to essential services, improving healthcare financing, revitalising primary healthcare centres and advancing Universal Health Coverage.
However, she cautioned that achieving these objectives through telemedicine would require deliberate efforts to address the infrastructural and regulatory challenges limiting digital healthcare delivery across the country.
Among the challenges she identified were unreliable electricity supply, poor internet connectivity, inadequate sustainable funding, data privacy concerns, cybersecurity threats and the need for effective regulation and interoperability among health information systems.
She said addressing these challenges was essential to ensuring that digital health services became reliable, secure and accessible to Nigerians across different locations.
Ibrahim-Anas also warned against implementing digital health programmes in ways that could exclude vulnerable populations.
