TAMSA 6th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCETHEME: IMPACT OF GLOBAL HEALTH IN AFRICA, ITS TIME TO

FACE THE CHALLENGES!Sub Theme: Technology in advanced Medicine

Title: VIRTUAL HOSPITALS OF FUTURE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Presenters: Lutfi Abdallah

Jacqueline Kihwele

MUHIMBILI UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH AND ALLIED SCIENCES

(MUHAS)

Introduction

Source: Developing country accessed from http://aviationbenefitsbeyondborders.org/around-the-world/developing-countries

• Growing Double Burden of diseases in Developing countries.

Health for All..some objectives for which Telemedicine has originated.• To make high quality healthcare available to traditionally

under privileged population - In developing countries, there is a large rural based population separated by large distances, which need access to regular quality medical care. Telemedicine can enhance citizen’s equality in the availability of various medical services and clinical health care, despite these economic and geographic barriers.

• Save the time wasted by both providers and patients (from long, difficult, often health-threatening journeys from one geographic location to another to avail services on time [8]

• Reduce costs of medical care.

Ground realities of the Present state of health care in developing countries:

I. Approx. 3.1 Billion live in rural area (0ut of 5.6 billion people - 2009).

II. Bed-Population ratio 0.3 per 1000 people to 0.7 per 1000 people (2011) VS. Ideal of 1:500 people.

III. Only 1.9 – 4.1% of GDP for health (WHO recommends at least 5%).IV. 5 - 9% of annual family income spent towards curative health care. V. Doctor to patient ratio is still high (the average doctor to patient

ratio in developing countries is 1 doctor for every 250,000 patients. VI. Specialists and super specialists located in urban areas and their

number dissatisfy the needs.

Advancement of Technology/ Driving forces

– Digitilazation– Teledensity– Trend of technology– Internet capabilities

Source: Yale Journal of Medicine and Law, using Telemedicine to address doctor shortages; accessed from

http://www.yalemedlaw.com/2013/02/using-telemedicine-to-address-doctor-shortages/

Telemedicine“…..the delivery of healthcare services, where distance is a critical factor, by all healthcare professionals using information and communication technologies for the exchange of valid information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases and injuries, research and evaluation, and for the continuing education of healthcare providers, all in the interest of advancing the health of individuals and their communities” WHO 1998

Source:

Advantages of Telemedicine• Doctors licensed to practice all over the Nation/country• Maximum utilization of limited resources Saves travel,

time and money• Enormous CME potential for GP, urban trainee and Tele-

consultant• International grand rounds, Web casting conferences• Motivation for computer literacy among doctors• Reducing unnecessary referrals to specialists• Useful in designing credits for re-certification of doctors.

Why Telemedicine NOW

• Health care providers coming under increasing pressure to improve the quality of care delivered to patients while at the same time decreasing the cost worldwide. Telemedicine has the potential to address some of the pressing issues facing healthcare delivery in our country.

• As the population ages and chronic disease explodes, the healthcare delivery system will be forced to treat larger numbers of patients with fewer and more limited resources.

• A fundamental and comprehensive change in the management and delivery of healthcare is crucial to get the most cost effective and efficient use out of limited healthcare resources. Telemedicine applications and solutions are viable options that can be leveraged to address such pressing healthcare issues.

Medical Legal Aspect• There is wide spread concern regarding confidentiality and medical information

on the web.

• There are also potential legal issues regarding this and the limitation of the medical advice without face to face consultation or clinical examination. All information on patient (i.e. medical record, radiographs, audiotapes, images, and real time sensor data) is presented in a web-browser user interface, very strict access to control is used to prevent an authorized access to medical information.

• As an example, a patient may bring a smart card with his access key, or the finder print may be used as a basis for the access key.

• Exposure of the patient information may lead to loss of license, big fines, or jail

Conclusion

Despite the growing enthusiasm for “Telemedicine” the concept of virtual hospital still has many limitations to overcome. Nevertheless, telemedicine is beginning to have an impact on many aspects of health care in the developing countries.

When implemented well, telemedicine may allow the developing countries to leap frog over our developed neighbors in successful health care delivery.

• To witness a successful revolution in telemedicine, we need to bring this array of activities together. Perhaps the slogan “Health for all by 2000” which was forgotten towards the end of last century can still be achieved by the year 2030 by making “The E-Medicine Revolution” happen in developing countries. Time alone will tell whether Telemedicine is a “forward step in a backward direction” or to paraphrase Neil Armstrong “one small step for IT but one giant leap for Healthcare”.

Source: Webadmin, Telemedicine Continues to Transform Healthcare (Part 1 of 2): Pharmaceutical Retail’s Next

Frontier: Accessed from:

http://www.healthcareix.com/2013/05/telemedicine-continues-to-transform-healthcare-part-1-of-2-pharmaceutical-retail%E2%80%99s-next-frontier/

Thank you for Listening.

“21st century medicine, think globally, think 3D”