Bouteflika suggests to set up '\'virtual hospital'\'

Published February 15th, 2004 - 03:00 GMT

Algeria's President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, suggested Saturday to set up a "virtual hospital" by using the new information and communication technologies (ICT), which help transcend borders. Speaking at the opening of the Euro-Mediterranean conference on health, the Algerian leader, for whom the various projects of the Meda initiative should go to health, has suggested to set up, similarly to virtual universities, a virtual hospital where all skills wherever they are would bring their help to those in need, APS reported.

"Why not set a virtual health school, where knowledge would be shared in all health fields, including those of hospital management," he wondered.

President Bouteflika also considered as necessary for southern countries "to get the best of the experiences in terms of accreditation and identification" of both the needs and the users.