Digital Healthcare Services in Bangladesh | Healthcare in Bangladesh

Healthcare is not accessible in many remote areas of Bangladesh. Digital healthcare has brought a solution to it. It has made healthcare reachable to everyone.

 

Digital Healthcare in the Land of Rivers

Bangladesh is an overpopulated country. It has been a challenge to provide healthcare to this large population. Still, the government and individuals are working tirelessly to overcome this challenge. Digital health is an answer to fill the gap in healthcare in Bangladesh.

Nearly 60% people of Bangladesh live in remote areas. They have been deprived of various healthcare services due to less available hospitals and poor transportation in Bangladesh. There are uncountable cases where patients die on roads before reaching the hospital. It created a concern about expanding healthcare throughout the nation so that everyone can avail of the services of healthcare in Bangladesh.

During an emergency, It is quite tough to reach a nearby hospital when you are living far from it. You can’t expect to get ambulance service in a remote area. Even if it is possible, it's still tough to reach the hospital in time. In some cases, people who live alongside rivers or in an area that is surrounded by water, have to cross water roots and this has been the reason why they can’t reach the hospital in time. Boats are usually slower than vehicles that travel on flat land. They can get online doctor consultations in Bangladesh.

So digital healthcare has become a sigh of relief in Bangladesh since it doesn’t require any physical presence of the patient in the hospital. People of remote areas can avail the service of digital healthcare sitting at home in Bangladesh. All they need is a stable internet connection through which they can get the consultancy of specialist doctors in an emergency.

E-prescription has also added some value to the sector of digital healthcare in Bangladesh. Nowadays, patients don’t need to travel back to the hospital to bring test reports, documents or prescriptions. Technology has brought us so far that digital healthcare has been available for each and every one in Bangladesh.

The Rise of Telemedicine

Telemedicine is a blessing for our country. It has been a great addition to the sector of digital healthcare in Bangladesh. Telemedicine allows you to get doctor’s consultancy sitting at home, get home delivery of medicines, get prescriptions online, diagnostic tests at home etcetera.

Yes, there are good numbers of telemedicine service providers in Bangladesh. But the fact is, it still needs to be discovered to most of the people who actually need it most. It is because they haven’t been able to reach them and make them aware of online medical consultation services in Bangladesh.

They have to be introduced to the advantages of online doctor consultation in Bangladesh. They must be aware of the differences between getting physical treatment remaining uncertain and getting instant treatment without even going out of their own home.

Telemedicine shouldn’t only bring comfort to the city people. It should be introduced to the rural people as well. The Government of Bangladesh has taken a few initiatives to develop telemedicine services in Bangladesh. A few years ago, the ICT section of Bangladesh started different new projects to develop telemedicine services to save every single life that matters. Their IDEA project launched different startups such as Best Aid. They reached different remote areas of Bangladesh that are deprived of the service of healthcare due to the distance of specialized hospitals and transportation.

The government cannot handle all of it alone. We individuals should come up with various initiatives. We should go door to door to inform them about digital healthcare solutions in Bangladesh.

Labaid Cancer Hospital & Super Speciality Center has been an example of reaching telemedicine to a larger audience. LifePlus Bangladesh, one of the concerns of Labaid cancer Hospital & Super Speciality Center has already reached a good number of people with their telemedicine service. They provide emergency doctor consultancy of specialized doctors at only 99 taka. Along with that, they provide ambulance service, home diagnostic service, home nursing care, medicine, lifestyle products as well. One can avail of all of these services through a single health app bd.

Download the LifePlus Bangladesh App: lifeplusbd.com/a

Visit Lifeplus Bangladesh website: www.lifeplusbd.com

Many other hospitals are also rising with the technology of digital healthcare. For example, Ibn Sina Doctor Appointment Apps.

Significance of Digital Healthcare in Bangladesh

The availability of digital healthcare services has been remarkable for the people who live in remote areas of Bangladesh. Research has shown that there has been a significant change that has brought comfort to treatment for the people of remote areas. Women with delivery pain have been mostly benefited through this. They can get the consultancy of a gynecologist in an emergency. Maternal and child healthcare has been developed as well. Digital health has changed the circumstances a lot in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has been a country to follow for other developing countries the way they have established telemedicine faster than expected. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has praised Bangladesh for its initiatives regarding the development of digital healthcare in Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been considered as the leader of developing nations for their improvement in digital healthcare.

Digital healthcare has influenced concerns of mental health to get the necessary online doctor consultations in Bangladesh. They don’t need to be physically present and explain the personal issues that are bothering them.

 

Challenges of Digital Health in Bangladesh

The journey of establishing digital healthcare services in Bangladesh hasn’t been that easy. One of the biggest barriers of spreading digital health in Bangladesh is the unavailability of the internet in those areas. Digital health services in Bangladesh are waiting for the availability of the Internet in rural areas. The whole system is online. So internet access is mandatory. Even though the internet is available now in most of the remote areas, internet speed is a big factor here.

Besides access to the internet, software literacy and proper usage of the internet is other big factor here. Most people don’t know how to install a telemedicine app and usage of it. Digital health will rise more in Bangladesh if people get comfortable and become more used to it.