Minister for Health Dr Neil Sharma

Source: MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

The launch of a tele-medicine centre this week will boost the expertise and skills of health professionals and those aspiring to become medical professionals.

Tele-medicine allows medical personnel to use telecommunications and other forms of information technologies to provide medical assistance or clinical advice.

While officially launching the tele-medicine centre at the Fiji National University, which is a joint partnership between the university and the Apollo Group of Hospitals of India, the Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma said that this development will boost the skills of Fiji’s medical professionals.

“This will develop the training skills for graduates, undergraduates and those that aspire to pursue their careers in the medical field,” Dr Sharma said.

“We have progressed in Fiji; we have access to computerised tomographyscans and improved laboratory services where we can make adequate results. One of the areas that we are lacking is the up-skilling of our manpower and this is one which will help improve the services to the people,” he said.

Dr Sharma said through the tele-medicine centre, patients will be able to liaise with the doctors from the Apollo Cancer Institute in India via medical teleconference centre and get advice as to how they can treat their disease.