Pakistan and other developing and under developed countries must switch over to an AI-based preventive healthcare model to ensure early detection of diseases to curtail their health budget and save their meager financial resources which could be utilized for the welfare of the people, said Dr Maqsood Ahmad, Chairperson Hometown Community Foundation (HCF). Addressing an awareness session at University Medical & Dental College (UMDC) Faisalabad, he said that developed countries are working to exploit the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector.
They are developing software through which a technician can identify most complicated diseases without the help of any medical doctors within seconds, he said and added that it would not only help in early detection of disease but also pave the way for overcoming diseases with a minimum possible medical bill. He said that developed countries are focusing and promoting this preventive healthcare model as the diagnosis as well as treatment has become costly even for influential families. He said that this model is suitable for a country like Pakistan where diseases have attained alarming proportion while the financial resources of the government and individuals have squeezed with the continuous economic meltdown.
He said that this system is also suitable for the people living in far-flung and hilly areas where accessibility of professional doctors is next to impossible. He said that early detection could suggest patients to adopt healthy lifestyle which would change their food to control diseases without spending any penny on the treatment. Dr Maqsood said that Pakistani nursing degrees is not recognized in the USA which was creating problems for job seeking Pakistani nurses. “The Hometown Community Foundation is reviewing this issue so that necessary recommendations could be forwarded to the government of Pakistan to remove the hurdles in the reorganization of this degree.” Muhammad Saleem, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Fitwell, said that expatriates were working in different projects to resolve the issue of agriculture, energy and health in Pakistan. He said that there was acute dearth of human resources in healthcare and nursing sectors and expats were working on a project to provide training to 15,000 Pakistani healthcare workers to accommodate them in America and the European Union.
Prof Dr Amir Ali Chaudhary Principal UMDC, stressed the need of utilization of modern technology in the healthcare sector and said that it could help people to get latest medical facilities affordable by them. He appreciated the preventive model of the Hometown Community Foundation and said that it could revolutionize Pakistani healthcare services. He said that UMDC was imparting best facilities in medical education and currently 750 students are enrolled in MBBS and 250 in BDS. A question-answer session was held while Dr Maqsood Ahmad gave a practical demonstration of a retinopathy machine to diagnose different diseases. Muhammad Saleem Bulandiya, President Hometown Community Foundation Punjab, was also present during this meeting.
