A TEAM consisting of a group of students, in collaboration with the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), has launched an eight-week online community-service project aimed at educating and engaging the public on technology’s growing role in healthcare.
Now entering its seventh week of presentations, the group—made up of youths from a combination of online universities under the GOAL programme—is inviting the public to join discussions under the theme, “The Future of Smart and secure Healthcare.” The project began on July 4 and is expected to conclude on August 29.
Organisers said the initiative is intended to raise public awareness of pharmaceutical management, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and how these areas can help improve the health sector for everyone, including persons living with disabilities.
In an interview, team member Vlyssess Edwards said, “The sessions have been impactful, completing its sixth week and it has brought awareness to people so far.”
Since the start of the programme, the team has delivered sessions on issues connected to safer, technology-enabled healthcare, including the impact of artificial intelligence on pharmaceutical innovation and security; pharmaceutical management and the importance of cybersecurity in healthcare; the role of risk management in smart and secure healthcare; the importance of security assessment in smart healthcare; the role of security operations in smart and secure healthcare systems.
The invited audience can benefit from the remaining topics, this week and the next, the importance of being cyber ready (incident ready) in a smart and secure healthcare system, and artificial intelligence as a cybersecurity tool for protecting smart healthcare systems.
The students said the outreach is intended to include people locally and abroad, including members of the diaspora and anyone with an interest in technology and the healthcare system.
They also pointed to ongoing modernisation in Guyana’s health sector, including the introduction of electronic health records and pilot efforts that allow patients to make appointments online at the public hospital and one polyclinic so far.
Michael Thomas, another team scholar, said that as digital systems expand, so does the need to protect sensitive information from unauthorised access—particularly in healthcare.
“Cybersecurity acts as a defensive system in an organisation to protect sensitive data from misuse,” he said.
The team also highlighted artificial intelligence as a tool that could help reduce delays and improve service delivery. This, Edwards said, could significantly shorten the time between patients and healthcare providers locally, noting that “AI is an advance [sic] tool” and pointing to reduced waiting times for filling prescription drugs and booking appointments as examples of potential benefits.
Thomas added that public confidence will be key as new technologies are adopted. He said once people’s concerns are addressed and they understand that the tools are safe and effective, “it would be a step in the right direction,” particularly in using AI and cybersecurity to protect personal health data.
Ashenna Assanah added, “Cybersecurity is a relevant topic in the world today and we must be educated about it.”
GOAL is supporting the initiative by helping interested persons including those with disabilities learn about GOAL educational programme opportunities and how to get on board.
Organisers said the public can join the remaining online presentations, which will continue to focus on defence systems and cybersecurity in healthcare.
For anyone interested in joining the conversation and requesting the Zoom link, contact Edwards on 719-7597.
The scholars are encouraging public participation, saying the future of healthcare is on the verge of transformation locally and that understanding these changes will be essential to keeping it safe, inclusive and secure.
