ISLAMABAD, Oct 17 (INP-WealthPK): President Dr Arif Alvi has called for adopting telemedicine and digital technology besides strengthening preventive healthcare to help overcome the increasing health-related challenges faced by the underprivileged.
The president said this in a meeting with a delegation of Global Executives of Siemens Healthineers led by the Chief Executive Officer of the Middle East & South Asia (MESA) Regions Oley Per Maloy, who called on him at the President’s House.
Talking to the delegation, the president emphasized that healthcare providers should embrace innovation and transform healthcare delivery to improve the quality of healthcare services and enhance people’s access to medical services cost-effectively and efficiently.
He underlined the need to promote a preventive healthcare system by creating awareness about the importance of prevention and early detection of diseases by adopting a healthy lifestyle. He said a healthy lifestyle could be adopted by observing cleanliness, regular exercise, eating a balanced diet, managing tension and anxiety, avoiding smoking and the use of drugs and seeking medical assistance at the early stage of health issues faced by them.
The president said that there is a need to repeatedly inculcate the importance of a healthy lifestyle and take precautionary measures to prevent the occurrence of diseases. Early detection of disease is also important, he added.
He added that the smart devices and software solutions had great potential to transform the medical sector, especially in Pakistan where the health system was fragile and overburdened.
President Alvi stressed the need to develop telemedicine facilities and use mobile units to provide awareness, medical advice and treatment to the unprivileged segment of society in rural and far-flung areas, who could not afford the high cost associated with diagnostic and curative healthcare.
To enhance collaboration with Siemens Healthineers, he stressed the importance of sharing knowledge, adopting best practices and skill sets, and providing quality but cost-competitive and affordable health facilities.
Earlier, Ole Per Maloy briefed the president regarding various products of Siemens Healthineers. He said that Siemens Medical Solutions was the parent company of several medical technology companies in Germany and was a leading healthcare solution provider to Pakistan in the domain of laboratory and radiology.
He said the company’s core mission was to empower healthcare providers and help in expanding precision medicine, transforming care delivery and improving patient experience. This was enabled by the digitalization of the healthcare system, he added.
