Digital Hospital, the pioneer of digital health in Bangladesh, has recently come up with a new initiative in collaboration with Swisscontact, an independent non-profit organization, to introduce a new program for people living in remote areas to ensure access to specialized healthcare advice.
Under the new initiative, infrastructural changes will be made at the Community Paramedic’s (CP) chamber to support this program for the patients in the rural areas. The CP will refer to various e-specialists after analyzing the need, help connect with a specialized doctor who will consult through video call, and provide expert prescriptions and recommendations. Multiple Specialists will be available in this program.
In pilots during the 6 months of 2021, Digital Hospital has already provided over 8,000 specialist consultations with gynecology, cardiology, medicine specialists – and this scale-up with Swisscontact will bring the service to many more rural communities. Together DH and Swisscontact have the objective to ensure quality healthcare for all and help close the health care gap between the rich and poor, the rural and urban because everyone deserves good health.
To reduce access gaps and minimize overcrowding of tertiary health care centers and strengthen the local healthcare system, Digital Hospital along with Swisscontact brought in this new program from 10 December 2021. This program is also intended to reduce the financial burden of the patients by reducing the time and cost associated with traveling across the country to access healthcare services.
Andrew Smith, Co-Founder and CCO of Digital Hospital, says, "For most families and communities in Bangladesh, to access specialist medical advice they need to make a long, expensive journey to Dhaka. Now we are bringing those specialist doctors to the local Community Paramedic in their local area. This will broaden healthcare access and democratize who can consult with a specialist doctor and contribute to the government’s efforts of building a Digital Bangladesh.”
