The Gambia Committee on Harmful Traditional Practice Affecting the Health of Women and Girls (GAMCOTRAP) in partnership with Permian Health The Lung Institute Tuesday trained medical personnel and members of the Civil Society Organizations on PocketPatientMD APP in a ceremony held at GAMCOTRAP conference hall, Bakau.
GAMCOTRAP is an organization committed to the promotion and protection of women and girls’ political, social, sexual, reproductive health, and educational rights.
PocketPatientMD is an interoperable, Integra table, customized medical platform designed to improve clinical care, and gives more power and control to providers, doctors, and patients. It is currently in six languages and available online and offline.
The training aimed at improving efficiency in data management and accessibility in The Gambia through the use of a technological application called PocketPatientMD. It focused on equipping participants from various sectors with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively utilize the App to capture relevant health information and provide a platform to learn and share experiences.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Isatou Touray, executive director of GAMCOTRAP commended the participants for attending the daylong -capacity building despite their busy schedules at their various working places.
Dr. Touray said GAMCOTRAP has been engaged in women’s and girls’ reproductive health to ensure their well-being in society. This, she said is not only important to women and the girl-child but also to men as fathers and spouses.
“One of the ultimate goals of GAMCOTRAP is also empowering and promoting the welfare of women in all aspects,” she added.
However, she said training the participants on such digital platforms is of paramount importance to all, adding there is a greater need for all to be digitalized, most especially on health matters to ease medical responsiveness.
The former Health Minister stressed the need for health data collection on women and girls in society, saying “There are several health complications affecting women in the society such as fistula, cervical cancer and others.”
In this regard, she said women’s rights organizations need support to collect such data in society to ensure the health challenges of women are known and actions are taken towards that in due course.
In conclusion, Dr. Touray thanked the staff of Gamcotrap for working tirelessly in implementing the training, while commending all participants for their presence and participation.
In his presentation, Mark Wien, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PocketpatientMD said the digital platform is meant to develop clinical cares and give more power and control to providers, doctors, and patients, adding it help patients to access medical attention from doctors easily.
“This App also helps doctors to access previous information of patients without delay,” he noted.
Mori Kebba Danso, a participant from the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) described the APP as important in helping medical doctors to access patient information easily but said to ensure its implementation in The Gambia the Ministry of Health needs to be involved.
Aminata Ceesay, social media, and podcast officer, GAMCOTRAP said the training enables her to have an idea of how the PocketpatientMD operates. She commended the leadership of GAMCOTRAP for the initiative.
