IN DEVELOPING nations such as Bangladesh, access to timely and quality health care remains a big challenge for a significant portion of the population. According to a report of the World Bank, Bangladesh suffers from scarcity of effective healthcare services having just 0.6 consulting doctors, 0.3 surgical specialists, 0.4 nurses, and 0.9 hospital beds for every 1,000 patients. The听 problem is exacerbated because of unwelcoming updated digital healthcare systems.
The conventional health care system that is dependent on pen and paper as well as physical consultation creates issues in the delivery of health services such as unnecessary delays, uncomfortable booking practices for appointment, cases of wrong diagnosis and higher mortality rates. In the evolving present times, it is essential to look for disruptive ways to change the current state of the health care sector and such a transformation has great potential in the digital healthcare systems.
Bangladesh has recently made notable strides in digital health. The health and family welfare ministry with the support of the World Health Oraganisation has initiated a national digital health strategy to improve healthcare access, quality and affordability. A2i is also working on a smart health system. Some of the digital healthcare startups such as Maya, Doctorola, CMED Health, Maner Bondhu, Olwel and Pulse are already in operation. These attempts are, however, still in initial stages of progression.
Economic progression as well as social change are taking place in Bangladesh. But, when it comes to the current technological development, the healthcare sector lags behind. Digital healthcare systems have the potential to fill critical traps in the healthcare infrastructure. Through IT-driven health care, we could foster an ecosystem where healthcare records are universally accessible to authorised health professionals, diagnostic capabilities are streamlined and patient outcomes are significantly improved.
In rural and urban settings alike, patients often suffer because of fragmented, manual record-keeping. Individuals frequently switch between healthcare providers, resulting in incomplete or inaccessible health history. This lack of coordination leads to repeated tests, unnecessary expenses and even incorrect treatment because of incomplete records. With a more integrated digital systems, these inefficiencies can be reduced, ultimately saving lives and reducing costs.
Government support for information and communications technology has been crucial in expanding tech-driven healthcare services. Inspired by developed nations, local information and communications technology entrepreneurs saw this as an opportunity, driving innovation and accessibility forward. Thailand鈥檚 public health ministry offers a compelling example of digital healthcare innovation through its collaboration with Huawei.
This digital health strategy has successfully addressed and eradicated critical healthcare challenges, from managing pandemic pressure to supporting the needs of an ageing population, by mitigating healthcare resource gap between urban and rural areas, showcasing how technology can transform accessibility and healthcare equity. Another example is the PATH鈥檚 Data Use Partnership Project, which continues to transform the Tanzanian health care into a robust and responsive system by maximising efficient data. The initiative allowed healthcare providers and policymakers to further streamline resource allocation, improve the quality of care and rise to the needs of public health.
A comprehensive government-led effort is required in Bangladesh to fill the gaps, leading to the development of a blockchain-based, centrally managed health database. This proposed system would connect all registered healthcare organisations 鈥� hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, etc 鈥� to a single, secure server managed by the government. Registered healthcare providers such as physicians and nurses, could access patient鈥檚 health records, prescriptions of previous physicians, diagnostic reports and family history with the patient鈥檚 permission taken in the data entry phase. The patient data would be preserved via an individual鈥檚 unique QR code to be available through every citizen鈥檚 birth certificate, which might also be accessible by the individual through personalised apps.
The centralised database would enhance preventive care, early diagnosis and more precision treatments as physicians would have easy access to previous treatments and test results that a patient had. This encourages better health outcomes and the root cause of inefficiency. Blockchain assures data privacy and security. Blockchain鈥檚 decentralised, tamper-proof ledger provides the key to data access by the patient themselves for maintaining privacy and trust. These records can also be trusted by healthcare providers for their accuracy, which is often critical in making informed decisions in high-stakes situations.
The implementation of digital health care will faced challenges, including resistance, especially from most of the healthcare professionals who are used to traditional systems. Its adoption will involve very intensive training and a change in culture. Another major setback will be the funding. The digital healthcare information technology infrastructure requires a big initial investment in its infrastructure, equipment and training although it is cheap in the long run. Data privacy and security will also be a major challenge. The success requires clear guidelines by the government on how data are accessed and managed. This garners trust and achieves compliance.
These are the challenges that have to be confronted by a strong public-private partnership. There needs to be collaboration among government, health providers and private sectors in initial investments, the development of digital infrastructure and policy reforms. It is easy to begin with smaller, targeted pilot programmes with the idea of building momentum and providing insightful feedback towards the scale-up.
Training programmes for health professionals should also be aggressively pursued to ensure health worker鈥檚 confidence in using digital systems. It will be easy to win people鈥檚 confidence by developing a secure system of data management and transparent policy. That way, Bangladesh can take a significant step towards accessible and sustainable health care, focused on its citizens鈥� well-being.
Fundamentally, the adoption of digital healthcare information technology can bring revolution to health care in Bangladesh, rooted in a blockchain-based centralised system for improved data access, diagnostic capability and patient experience. When embraced, we will see an efficient, equitable and patient-centred digital healthcare system. We must seize the time for digital transformation in health care and with concerted effort, Bangladesh can lead from the front to set an example for other developing nations in pursuit of universal health equity.
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Samsul Alam is an associate professor of management information system in Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur.
