Session Topics: Colloquium 2012

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Health Technologies for the Future

The technology sphere for the healthcare industry is changing rapidly. On
the one hand, new devices are allowing patients to monitor their health
conditions on their own; on the other hand, patients are increasingly able
to keep in touch with their healthcare providers through use of various
technologies. This session will discuss how the landscape of healthcare is
changing globally and what innovative technologies are coming out from
Bangladesh itself.

Communication Barriers in Accessing Healthcare

One of the primary challenges in accessing healthcare is inadequate and
expensive communication facilities, which force a large section of the
population to be deprived of quality healthcare. New technologies are
enabling patients to be cared for with remote instructions from doctors and
health administrators, thereby addressing the communication barriers to a
certain degree. This session will discuss the relevant emerging technologies
and innovative health-delivery processes that enable such remote patient
management.

Importance of Live Consultation in Telemedicine

A critical need in healthcare is for patients and doctors to communicate on
a regular basis, which often becomes hard or even impossible due to
financial reasons, or distance from the nearest health-facility. Emerging
technologies have enabled patients to interact with doctors through various
mechanisms such as mobile phones, web-conferencing, tele-conferencing etc.
This session will introduce the options available and cost-effectiveness for
the patients in using these options.

Patient Management Software Solution and Business Requirement

Development of software for the management of electronic medical records
and disease management of individual patients is a fundamental component
of a mature healthcare system, an area where Bangladesh has significant
scope for improvement. Some diseases and conditions can require a
lifetime of management. We have yeet to design software applications that
incorporate point-of-care data management tools, health analysis
features, and telemedicine capabilities to foster an environment to
empower patients to learn and implement self-care management
behaviors.The top hospitals in the country generally do not keep
individual medical records. Emerging software solutions have provided the
opportunity to digitize and share medical records – some of the local
software companies have also come forward with locally relevant
solutions. This session will discuss the evolution and use of these
software solutions from a global perspective and what health
organizations in Bangladesh can learn from those.

Public Private Partnership in eHealthcare Initiatives

Providing quality healthcare to every single citizen is not a task that the
government or the private sector can take on by operating alone. Over the
years, different innovative schemes for win-win collaboration between the
government and the private sector has evolved in the area of using ICTs in
healthcare, where different players take on different roles in the continuum
of care. This session will discuss those models, both in Bangladesh and
outside, and what more Bangladesh can learn from the global best practices.

Standardizing Health Data for New Service Design and Policy Making

As more and more health systems are getting developed, one critical and
growing need of the day is to ensure that these systems can exchange
information smoothly so that patients can be served with the utmost
efficiency in their continuum of care. Many developed countries have made
the mistake of creating isolated health information systems that do not
Œtalk¹ to each other. As a result, there is a growing global and national
policy imperative to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated in the
developing world where health information systems are still at a relatively
nascent stage. This session will discuss successful global models of
standardization of health data and exchange, and what Bangladesh can learn
from those cases.

Business model for e-Health and m-Health

Ensuring quality healthcare for the disadvantaged section of the population
is a challenge when it comes to creating sustainable models that are not
fully dependent on donor funding. Innovative business models are required to
ensure that the poor can be served at minimal cost but maximum quality
possible. This session will discuss some innovative practices both in
Bangladesh and abroad, which can set the foundation for mature social
business models in the area of healthcare.

ICTs in Monitoring and Evaluation of Healthcare Services

In a typical healthcare delivery setting, there are several layers of
service providers, who need to be monitored regularly and evaluated
periodically to ensure the maximum quality of service at the lowest cost
possible. However, the process of monitoring and evaluation is a costly
affair, an area where ICTs are contributing significantly to bring costs
down and increase accountability. This session will discuss some models both
in Bangladesh and abroad, where ICTs are being successfully used for
effective M&E in healthcare.

Hospital Management System: Possibilities & Challenges

As more and more hospitals are growing in Bangladesh, hospital management
systems are becoming a critical need both from the perspective of quality
care to patients and also from the point of view of ensuring accountability.
Some Bangladeshi software companies are gearing up for this growing demand
from hospitals. Policy-makers are also considering policy issues around
ensuring accountability through effective hospital management systems. This
session will discuss issues of new trends in hospital management system and
also some policy issues that can ensure accountability in hospital care.