The Society for Family Physicians of Nigeria (SOFPON) on Friday said it would soon launch an online media platform for Nigerians to have access to family doctors without necessarily visiting hospitals.
Dr Timothy Abuba, the General Secretary of SOFPON, made this known at a news conference to mark the World Family Doctor Day in Abuja on Friday.
The theme of this year’s celebration is: “Family Doctors – Leading the way to better health”.
Abuba explained that the online platform would help curb corruption affecting most health institutions in the country.
“This platform will be launched on May 19, and it will curb the issue of some patients paying their way or cutting corners to see doctors.
“So many patients have problem with hospital care because the access time to see a doctor could be quite long.
“This platform will also provide some remuneration to the doctors as well as the hospital where the patient is receiving care.
“A patient just has to click on the application and will be connected immediately to an available doctor,” he said.
The Acting President of SOFPON, Dr Musa Dankyau, noted that the Nigerian health system would require significant improvement in six major aspects for better health outcomes.
He said that better health services should have impact and must be able to offer financial risk protection for all who utilise health services in the country.
“Health service delivery, health workforce, leadership and governance to assure quality are needed for patient-doctor relationship.
“Others include health system financing, supply of medical products and technologies, and health system information were necessary for sustained improvements in health services,’’ Dankyau said.
On Ebola, Dr Ogenna Okeke, the Treasurer of the society, said that they are educating patients on how to protect themselves from the disease.
She said that traditional practices of washing bodies of corpses should be avoided for now.
Okeke said that Nigerians should continue to maintain healthy lifestyle at all times to avoid the disease which could spread by land, sea and by air.
World Family Doctors Day is being celebrated annually since 2010, when it was first declared.
It serves as a day to highlight the role and contribution of family doctors in healthcare systems globally.