From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, has frowned at the increasing cases of leakages of patients’ information as a result of “carelessness” of some radiologists.
He, thus tasked the radiologists to identify challenges impeding data security to address increase cases of litigations from patients against its members.
The Minister gave the charge at the 6th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Scientific Conference of Association of Radiologists in Nigeria (ARIN) and 60th AGM of Association of Radiologists in West Africa (ARAWA).
The Minister who was represented by his aide, Dr Jimoh-Olawale Salaudeen, noted other challenges like manpower deficit, poorly regulated radiology practice in the country and inadequate technology innovation.
He said: “You are all witnesses to the increasing litigations in our practice arising from patients’ awareness of their rights and privileges. Leakages of patients’ information must be guarded seriously with every sense of responsibility. Efficient technology should be deployed to prevent miscreants from invading the system.”
The Minister, however, said that government was working to produce middle men to bridge the manpower gap, adding that the Ministry was committed to continued collaboration with ARIN, but charged the Association to come up with implementable solutions to all the challenges.
National President of ARIN, Prof. Sule Saidu, in his remarks, called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to increase commitment to the improvement of service delivery, training and research in healthcare with a view to ensuring global best practices.
He said that government’s commitment to improvement of the health sector would certainly help to curtail health tourism abroad, thus conserving the much- needed foreign exchange and hopefully help to reverse the trend.
Prof. Sule called on government at various levels to pay more attention to the provision of more diagnostic equipment for the practice of radiologist, adding that it is only when diagnosis is correct that proper treatment can be assured.
He said that with more attention from the government to the health sector, brain drain would be reduced, stressing that lack of state-of-the-art facilities were part of the issues causing health workers migration.
Chairman ARIN FCT/Local Organizing Committee (LOC), Dr Agaja James, for the event stated that medical practitioners in Africa are reducing in numbers day-by-day because of the advancement in technology and economic problem ravaging the world.
He said that majority of medical practitioners have migrated from rural areas to cities in the Sub-Sahara region, and that many had also gone beyond the shore of Africa.