Focus on Digital Technologies
Digital technologies have spread rapidly throughout the world. They have boosted growth, expanded opportunities and improved service delivery. For many people today increased access to digital technologies has brought forth more choices and greater convenience. Many people all over the world have no access to digital technologies, which is a major problem preventing the digital revolution from fulfilling its transformative potential. To deliver equal and universal access, investments must be made on infrastructure and policies must be established that promotes completion and public-private partnership. Growth, jobs, and services are the most important returns to digital investments. The 2016 World Development Report by the World Bank shows how digital technologies help businesses become more productive; people find jobs and greater opportunities; and governments deliver better public services to all.
The World Bank Report concludes that the full benefits of the information and communications transformation will not be realized unless countries continue to improve their business climate, invest in people’s education and health, and promote good governance. Countries that complement technology investments with broader economic reforms reap digital dividends in the form of faster growth, more jobs, and better services. By reducing information costs, digital technologies greatly lower the cost of economic and social transactions for firms, individuals, and the public sector. They boost efficiency as existing activities and services become cheaper, quicker, or more convenient. Likewise, they increase inclusion as people get access to services that previously were out of reach.
Emphasis on e-Health
The term e-health refers to a "healthcare practice supported by electronic processes and communication". It is an information system that aims to provide a centralized store of health records to support the health sector. Specifically, it seeks to improve the safety, reliability, accessibility and quality of patient information. Through creating a standardized electronic health information service for all in the health sector, the system aims to confer the benefits of cost reduction, minimized information loss, and increases in service delivery efficiency within the Health sector. Although eHealth is still in its infancy, it is envisaged that it will become an interconnected system, allowing all medical staff alike to access and update patient’s information in real time.
E-health is an emerging field in the intersection of medical informatics, public health and business, referring to health services and information delivered or enhanced through the Internet and related technologies. In a broader sense, the term characterizes not only a technical development, but also a state-of-mind, a way of thinking, an attitude, and a commitment for networked, global thinking, to improve health care locally, regionally, and worldwide by using information and communication technology.
E-health provides a new method for using health resources - such as information, money, and medicines and in time should help to improve efficient use of these resources. The Internet also provides a new medium for information dissemination, and for interaction and collaboration among institutions, health professionals, health providers and the public. User friendly and patient oriented e-health system is required to encourage participation from the patients.
E-health simply means the application of the latest information and communication technologies in all health-related fields such as collecting, storing, restoring, analyzing and managing the information, unifying the electronic health records, disseminating and sharing medical information, surgeries and healthcare remotely, in addition to smart e-healthcare cards. The aim is to achieve stronger and more effective communication with patients and upgrade healthcare services and the entire healthcare sectors. It is all about digitizing healthcare systems and records.
E-health is a vital resource to remote regions of emerging and developing countries but is often difficult to establish because of the lack of communications infrastructure. For example, in Benin, hospitals often can become inaccessible due to flooding during the rainy season and across Africa, the low population density, along with severe weather conditions and the difficult financial situation in many African states, has meant that the majority of the African people are badly disadvantaged in medical care. In many regions there is not only a significant lack of facilities and trained health professionals, but also no access to eHealth because there is also no internet access in remote villages, or even a reliable electricity supply. Public health and clinical care cannot be delivered safely, with high quality and in a cost-effective manner. There is also a need to secure data and information exchange at all levels of the health system.
The internet and the associated technologies have the potential to expand health services in developing countries as it increases efficiency and can lead to better patient outcomes. Replacing paper based patient registers with electronic register can help save time and increase effectiveness and efficiency of health services. To improve information flows The World Bank, African Development Bank and Addis Ababa University have developed the frontline SMS platform designed for effective communication with pregnant women and infants.
The major advantages of using e-health system are:
- Reduces staff stress and pressure
- Makes an efficient and accessible patient record
- Time saving and reducing indirect works that leads to more direct care delivery
- Causes keeping staff in their possession and attracting them
- Easily accessible and providing anonymity to users
- Cheaper in the long run
Effective national ownership, strong institutional capacity, human capacity and good governance is vital to e-health planning and implementation. National planning enterprise architecture, standardization and interoperability are successful for e-health implementation. Information and communication technology platforms can be leveraged to enhance accountability, transparence and empowerment of citizens to be active contributors to governance in health and central to health care delivery.
References:
1. Digital Dividends: World Development Report 2016
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