Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has introduced e-Doctor Phase 2.0 programme to rehabilitate female doctors, who had abandoned practice on the grounds of marriage or family commitments, in offering consultation online through smartphones.
DUHS and Educast launched the initiative to rehabilitate women physicians back into the healthcare sector in 2018. Recognizing its immense potential, the Islamic Development Bank funded the venture.
More than 30,000 female MBBS graduates in Pakistan are not practicing medicine, causing an estimated loss of about Rs35 billion to the national exchequer, according to reports.
In the initial stage, Germany and Stanford University trained more than 1,500 women doctors from 27 nations.
The e-Doctor programme offered healthcare services in nations like Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestine, and Pakistan. The programme supplied instant digital medical aid to disaster-struck areas during Pakistan’s recent floods.
The e-Doctor services were also employed on the Bridge platform for elderly care.
The scheme will grant doctors contemporary online certification, observation training at the partner clinics, and virtual clinic access, which will allow the patients to consult doctors through smartphones.
Prof Dr Jahan Ara Hasan, Acting Vice Chancellor of DUHS, stated that this is not only a programme but a movement that is becoming a way for female doctors to get back to medicine in a respectful manner.