Digital innovation in medical education promising, says college

The College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Idi-Araba, has said the future of digital innovation in healthcare and medical education is incredibly promising.

The Guest Lecturer at the recently concluded 17th Horatio Oritsejolomi Thomas Memorial Lecture, Chairman, Medical ART Centre, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, explained that Artificial Intelligence stood at the forefront of revolution,  saying it had the potential to revolutionise healthcare delivery.

Prof. Oritsejolomi Horatio Thomas, (1917–1979), was a Nigerian medical pioneer specialising in facial reconstructive and plastic surgery.

The theme of the 61st Founders Day lecture was ‘Transforming healthcare and medical education through digital innovations: From AI-assisted Innovation to Edutech.’

Ashiru said, “The future of digital innovation in healthcare and medical education is incredibly promising, and it’s evident that we are already well into this transformative journey. AI stands at the forefront of this revolution, with its potential to revolutionise healthcare delivery. AI’s ability to continuously monitor and analyse patient health data, including data from fitness trackers, provides real-time insights into individual activity levels and heart health. This data-driven approach empowers healthcare professionals to create highly personalised treatment plans, ensuring more effective and efficient care.”

Ashiru added that key areas requiring attention and development for ease of application of digital innovation in healthcare include the adoption of 5G technology, the Internet of Things has the potential to transform industries, Investing in medical research is crucial for advancing healthcare in Nigeria, the Nigeria Medical Institute Bill, once activated, can help regulate and improve medical education and healthcare standards in the country and the revival of the Information and Communication Technology in collages.

Special Guest, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, said, “I have worked tirelessly to interrogate the health data architecture in Nigeria with the aim of translating our data into one critical aspect of health industrialisation that by implication will become a huge source of revenue generation for our health system strengthening. I hope to equally improve our digital health scope as a country considering the high impact it can have on our health system.”

Also speaking, Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, who was represented by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management services) Prof. Lucian Chukwu,  explained that HOT was loving and generous to those around him. “He lived a simple life and loved educating people. He was a seasoned and astute administrator whose contributions to the upliftment of UNILAG cannot be forgotten.”

Provost, Prof. David Oke,  said, “It is up to all of us to uphold HOT’s legacy and continue to build, to lead, to advance and improve our community by making it unimaginably different from the one our founding fathers inhabited nearly sixty years ago. I, therefore, charge you all to make our college a world-class teaching and research-intensive medical college.”