Free Telemedicine Services for Full Time Students of University of Lagos

The University of Lagos is delighted to announce that free telemedicine services are now available for all full-time students of the University.

The services are rendered at the three telemedicine booths donated by Chief Adebutu Kesington and commissioned on Friday, January 13, 2023 as part of the 60^th Anniversary Convocation Ceremonies.

Take a peek into one of the booths here 👇🏿

Telemedicine is a system of accessing healthcare via electronic or virtual media. The Telemedicine booths provide virtual access for students to speak to Nigerian Medical and Dental Council registered General Practice (GP) doctors for primary care consultation and treatment advice via a voice or video call.

These highly trained Doctors deliver their virtual consultation services from a technologically-advanced call centre. Their services also include medical advice on medication, medication prescription and laboratory services to mention a few. All referrals (e.g specialist care, laboratory and diagnostic services and the likes) will be made to UNILAG Medical Centre and their network. Unilag Medical Centre will also have records of all prescriptions and referrals.

The Telemedicine booth contains the following components and necessary medical devices:

1. Tablet
2. Mi-fi (if Wi-Fi is not available)
3. Blood pressure machine – to assess and monitor blood pressure
4. Oximeter – To measure arterial blood oxygen
5. Thermometer – To measure body temperatures
6. Weighing scales – To monitor patient’s weight with height measure.
7. Basic drugs – Paracetamol, multivitamins, sleeping drugs, anti-malaria drugs, antibiotics and worm expellers.

Procedure for accessing the services:

1. A student can call the doctor, either video or voice-call, on the tablet which is virtually connected to the external telemedicine call centre via Wi-Fi.
2. After consultation, the doctor may give a prescription via sms or e-mail to the student or refer the student to a specialist or for laboratory/diagnostic tests.
3. The doctor will notify UNILAG Medical Centre on the course of action to be carried out as well as the medication prescribed.

The simple devices can be administered by the student themselves or by a health worker (Nurse) during the virtual consultation and the results relayed to the doctor in real-time.

Benefits of using telemedicine include:

1. Telemedicine can increase students’ access to a doctor and increase the student-to-doctor ratio.
2. Remote access means less chance of a student contracting a new illness at the UNILAG Medical Centre due to reduced exposure to other patients, thus lowering infection rates.
3. Telemedicine can reduce unnecessary non-urgent emergency visits.

Locations of the booths

The booths are located as follows:

1. Moremi Hall
2. Shodeinde Hall
3. Idi-Araba Campus

There is a Nurse provided by Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) and stationed at each booth. The Nurses will be available every day (8:00a.m. to 6:00p.m.) weekends inclusive.

Students are encouraged to visit the booths to benefit from the free medical services available.