Interventional Radiology is being adopted in Nigerian healthcare service delivery by Tory Services (ECHOLAB), in collaboration with GE Healthcare. The last ECHOLAB-GE Distinguished Doctors’ Forum, a recurring symposium on medical diagnostics, was held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos, with this topic as its main focus.
Interventional Radiology (IR) has experienced tremendous development in importance and value in healthcare delivery systems all over the world. Interventional Radiology is based on the idea that patients should be diagnosed and treated with the least intrusive methods currently available to reduce risk to the patient and enhance health outcomes. Compared to open surgery, these techniques are less painful, risky, and need less time for recuperation.
Interventional radiology is a relatively new area of interest for a developing nation like Nigeria, according to ECHOLAB CEO Dr. Alok Bhatia. That kind of work isn’t being done by many centers. Where you do have the requisite equipment, there is not enough trained labor available. However, as a member of one of the leading medical diagnostic organizations, Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH), we have performed considerable work in interventional radiology with over 100 radiologists reporting across several radiology segments.
“Yes, we do have the tools and the know-how—along with continual process improvement and adherence to international best practices. Patients profit greatly from our intervention because they don’t have to be exposed to as many surgical procedures to get the treatment they need.
However, no patient walks into a center and declares, “I want an intervention.” Instead, they must be referred. In order to inform our referring physicians about the facilities and services we provide and how their patients can access them, we are organizing these knowledge-sharing seminars.
When a world-class manufacturer of cutting-edge medical equipment like GE teams up with a world-class facility like ECHOLAB to handle the equipment and world-class physicians to report on it, what you get is a winning partnership that ensures quantitative accuracy for improved diagnosis and treatment outcomes for patients, according to Bhatia. Additionally, because technology is always changing, our cooperation with GE enables us to adapt our services to the end users, in a cost-effective manner.”
GE Healthcare’s General Manager for West Africa, Dr. George Uduku, stated, “We are tremendously happy to be involved with ECHOLAB.” “The healthcare industry is tremendously complicated and faces many urgent difficulties. Furthermore, no group will be able to overcome these obstacles on its own. Because of this, GE Healthcare is collaborating with leading commercial healthcare organizations like ECHOLAB as well as public hospitals to offer cutting-edge equipment and technologies that streamline workflows, increase dose efficiency and safety, and also increase therapeutic precision.
One such piece of technology is the Revolution Maxima, a high-performance CT imaging system, which is now in use at ECHOLAB. It represents a fundamental shift in the way we use artificial intelligence to make things simpler workflows.
It tackles many of the placement difficulties radiologists encounter as well as the effects on the length of time needed to complete the procedures. Additionally, it reduces the patient’s radiation exposure from having to undergo several scans as a result of mistakes. You can receive the right image the first time thanks to the automated patient placement of the Revolution Maxima.
According to Professor Mohamed Aggag, Group Chief Business Development and Medical Informatics Officer at IDH, the healthcare system in Nigeria, like many other sub-Saharan African nations, is severely lacking. The desire to provide more value is driven by the country’s expanding population.
This is why IDH has invested significantly in the nation through ECHOLAB, and we intend to add more funding in the coming three years to provide access to high-quality medical diagnostic services, including Interventional Radiology.
Interventional Radiology (IR) enables healthcare delivery systems to better achieve the “triple aim” of healthcare: improved patient experience, improved community/population health, and reduced per capita cost. This is done through the “less is more” concept of achieving outcomes through IR’s minimally invasive techniques. This is accomplished by moving care to outpatient settings, boosting patient throughput, lowering risk, and speeding up the healing process. In fact, an era of IR clinical competence is upon us, both in Nigeria and the rest of the world.
Other speakers at the event include Tessica Chetty, Clinical Leader for Interventional Radiology at GE Healthcare, Chijioke Ubandu, Modality Sales Leader-CT, also from GE Healthcare, and Dr. Emmanuel Iyere, Lead Consultant Pathologist and Head of Pathology Services at ECHOLAB Radiology and Laboratory Services. Dr. Shedrack Kenis, Lead Consultant Radiologist and Head of Radiology Services at ECHOLAB Nigeria, chaired an interactive panel discussion.
Regarding ECHOLAB
ECHOLAB Radiology and Laboratory Services is a proudly woman-led subsidiary of Integrated Diagnostic Holdings (IDH), a major consumer healthcare company with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Nigeria. The Group has a solid reputation for quality and safety, as well as accreditations that are recognized globally for its assortment of more than 2,000 diagnostic exams. The Company will continue to add laboratories from its foundation of over 502 locations thanks to a Hub, Spoke, and Spike business model that offers a scalable platform for rapid growth. There are currently twelve branches of ECHOLAB Nigeria spread throughout five states.
Regarding GE Healthcare
Leading suppliers of technologies for cell and gene therapy, biomanufacturing, medical imaging, and monitoring include GE Healthcare. Through intelligent devices, data analytics, software, and services, GE Healthcare delivers precision health in diagnostics, therapies, and monitoring. With more than 50,000 workers worldwide and more than 100 years of expertise in the healthcare sector, GE Healthcare supports healthcare providers, researchers, and life sciences firms in their goal to enhance patient outcomes for its assortment of more than 2,000 diagnostic exams. The Company will continue to add laboratories from its foundation of over 502 locations thanks to a Hub, Spoke, and Spike business model that offers a scalable platform for rapid growth. There are currently twelve branches of ECHOLAB Nigeria spread throughout five states.
Regarding GE Healthcare
Leading suppliers of technologies for cell and gene therapy, biomanufacturing, medical imaging, and monitoring include GE Healthcare. Through intelligent devices, data analytics, software, and services, GE Healthcare delivers precision health in diagnostics, therapies, and monitoring. With more than 50,000 workers worldwide and more than 100 years of expertise in the healthcare sector, GE Healthcare supports healthcare providers, researchers, and life sciences firms in their goal to enhance patient outcomes around the world.