News Briefs--(8-02-2018)

Palak praises medical outsourcing firm Augmedix

Bangladeshi outsourcing firm, Augmedix, will contribute to branding country abroad, said State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak. "Skype represents Estonia and Nokia fames Finland worldwide. Similarly, medical start-up Augmedix will uphold Bangladesh with a new identity globally" he added. Zunaid Ahmed Palak made the remarks while addressing a news conference at Augmedix head office in Dhaka. Augmedix founder and Chief Executive Officer Ian Shakil and the USA-based investor firm Redmile Managing Director Gerard van Hamel Platerink were present on the occasion, among others. Organisers informed that the Redmile Group has already invested $10 million in a Bangladeshi medical scribing firm which has been serving for physicians in the US from its headquarter in Dhaka. Augmedix provides a platform that enables doctors to wear Google Glass as they see patients, while remote medical scribes fill out the electronic medical records in real time based on what they hear and see from the visit. At present, the company supports primary care physicians, specialists and surgeons working in 40 states of the USA. Redmile Managing Director Gerard van Hamel Platerink came to Dhaka to observe the initiatives. Augmedix founder and Chief Executive Officer Ian Shakil outlined innovation initiatives to use artificial intelligence (AI) to train scribes faster and to supercharge scribe productivity while offering more high-value services onto the Augmedix platform. Statemen

IDCOL receives regional awards

Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL), a government-owned financial institution, has been awarded with the SAFA Best Presented Annual Report Awards and SAARC Anniversary Awards for Corporate Governance Disclosures-2016 under the public sector entities category. M Maftun Ahmed, company secretary of IDCOL, and M Mizanur Rahman, Unit Head, Finance and Accounts of IDCOL, received the award from Nepal's Finance Secretary Shankar Prasad Adhikari and SAFA President Suvod Kumar Karn at an award-giving ceremony at the Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza in Kathmandu recently. IDCOL won the award in South Asia outshining counterparts in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, the Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan. This award has been conferred on IDCOL on the basis of evaluation administered by SAFA's Committee for Implementation in transparency, accountability and governance.— Statement