Information and communications technology (ICT) has the potential to improve access to, and the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care in Bangladesh. This is particularly true now that wireless networks are penetrating every corner of the country, and handset penetration has skyrocketed. We can now envision a time when every person and health provider in Bangladesh can have access to the health information they need, when they need it, in the form that is most usuable, and in the most convenient place to provide the needed care.

There is no guarantee that this will happen, however. Most developed nations are mired in large numbers of different legacy health information technology (HIT) systems that are not interoperable; these make progress with new technologies very hard. Despite billions of dollars, pounds, and euros spent, the vision is not being achieved.

Bangladesh has the opportunity to learn from and avoid those mistakes. It can become a model for the use of ICT for health. We can overcome the barriers to ICT in Healthcare. These include the cost and complexity of implementation, which often necessitate significant work process and cultural changes. Given ICT’s potential for all the affected sectors, private and public, the selection of ‘ICT In Healthcare’ as the upcoming 2012 Colloquium topic for The Daily Star Leadership Colloquium is timely.

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