The Royal Hospital organized today Wednesday a lecture on Virtual Healthcare at the lectures hall of the Hospital in the presence of H.E. Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Saidi, Minister of Health, H.E. Dr. Sultan Ya’rub al-Busaidi, Advisor of the Ministry of Health for Health Affairs, Dr. Qasim al-Salmi, Director General of Royal Hospital along with number of senior officials of the Ministry and medical staff.

The lecture delivered by Prof. Des Gorman, an expert from the University of Auckland. It addressed that the virtual healthcare is one way in which health systems can become more fit-for-purpose, as well as affordable and sustainable. Current virtual healthcare services are generally piecemeal and used for linking remote providers to experts in major centers.

The virtual healthcare opens new ideas on how medical education and healthcare planning need to be re-modeled to ensure that the medical profession can keep pace with latest advancements in technology and use internet based applications to ensure faster healthcare access, better patient experiences and reduced costs of care.

Prof. Gorman also highlighted the need for community engagement and for patient advocacy groups to achieve this transformation.