The matter of male fertility is generally taboo in the Jamaican context because we men take our sexual prowess quite seriously.
Yet we have considerably more 'jackets' than many other nations. But this is by no means just a Jamaican issue. According to scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, sperm counts among men in the West have more than halved in the past 40 years and are currently falling by an average of 1.4 per cent a year.
I have always been fascinated by technology, so although I started my career as an accountant, I was pulled to the technology sphere where I managed to introduce industry-changing technology initiatives in banking, finance and health.
I have seen the positives that technology can have on individuals and entire sectors. This is a part of the reason I make it a point to attend the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference each year to see the new and emerging technologies in health.
Traditionally, we think of going to a brick-and-mortar establishment when we want to visit a health professional either in a private practice or at a public facility.
But times are changing as access becomes more open with the development, implementation, and acceptance of health technology creating several options to remotely access healthcare.
Health sectors across developed and developing countries have long struggled with making improvements to infant and maternal health.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) for example, indicates that approximately 830 women die each day from preventable illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth with 99 per cent of these being in developing countries.
Worldwide these two indices are very high. For many lower socio-economic groups the problem is access to health care services.
The proposed National Identification System (NIDS) has been the source of contentious debate for the last few weeks.
Jamaica is actually late in the game in providing some sort of system of this type to ensure a proper database of its citizens, which will improve the country's ability to put in place effective structures and programmes that will adequately capture the needs of the population.
The United States, for example, can track and manage its welfare services through the social-security number issued to every citizen at birth and kept until death.
I recently explained and referred to data as the 'new oil', and if we understand the true value of data and what it can do for health care then we would now know that there are boundless opportunities that we can carve out to improve service delivery, patient care and save lives.
Apart from tracking trends, deciphering where and when outbreaks may happen, medication being used by whom and in which geographic location, data provides a whole gamut of information we can use at a very personal level.
Many born into a generation of rapidly changing technology are able to seamlessly adapt to the almost per-second changes.
But there are many among us who do not quite have it so easily. Technophobia - the fear of technology - is real and is oftentimes seen in people afraid of using new technology.
With the pace of change, technology can, indeed, be very daunting. However, with the increased use of technology across sectors and many companies going digital, it is clear that technology is here to stay.
I remember back in late 2009, the National Blood Transfusion Service ran out of blood bags and had only expired stock that they could not use to collect and store blood.
Back then, it became quite a major issue primarily because, as a country, we have always had a problem with collecting sufficient blood in voluntary donations to satisfy the needs of our sick and those requiring emergency care.
Tech company Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS) is hoping to tap government and private sector clientele for its new electronic hospital management system, which it wants to roll out nationally.
The National Patient Information System (NPIS) will first be tested at the University Hospital of the West Indies.
AIS has made its pitch to the Government and is now awaiting feedback on whether the plan will be considered for the island's 25 hospitals and 300 clinics, said Chairman and CEO Doug Halsall.
October 21, 2022
Health information technology is critical to the success of healthcare financing, according to Director of Health Applications at Advanced Integrated Systems, Shekar Sanumpudi.
Mr. Sanumpudi was speaking at the 14th annual Caribbean Conference on National Health Financing Initiatives, held in Antigua and Barbuda, from October 19-21, 2022.
The conference is being held under the theme “Confronting the Financial Challenges of COVID-19 and the Unfinished Universal Coverage Agenda.”
