Cost Effective MHealth Solutions for Developing Countries

COST EFFECTIVE M-HEALTH SOLUTIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Case study CARE RURAL HEALTH INITIATIVE AP India Dr. Priyesh Tiwari

HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN INDIA STANDARD TELEMEDICINE EXPERIMENT SHIFT TO HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIVE APPLICATIONS Presentation contents

HEALTHCARE SCENARIO IN INDIA A country of wide contrasts

Private sector driven
Urban areas and metros have world class medical facilities
Many of the specialists trained in USA/UK with excellent clinical skills
Use state of the art equipment
High volume of cases, lower costs and manpower availability is attracting billions of dollars of overseas investment in the sector

Growing disparities ~ 70% of 1 billion people live in rural areas...

STANDARD TELEMEDICINE Using PC, broadband and video conferencing

Ongoing problems...
Poor maintenance
Heat, dust, rough handling
Expensive
Satellite driven broadband system is unsustainably expensive
Poor electrical supply
Variable voltage, available only for 3-6 hours per day)
User training issues
semiliterate population
Lack of seamless connectivity to next level of care

SHIFT TO MOBILE PHONE Versatile, portable, user friendly

India is one of the fastest growing markets
More than 100,000 new connections sold everyday
Govt. Has made compulsory for connectivity providers to setup towers in rural areas
Mobile phone can do almost all basic functions of a PC, in addition:
It is rugged
Easy to charge (3 hours charging lasts for day)
Circumvents broadband connectivity (GPRS has become ubiquitous)
Even semiliterate people are now expert mobile users

Level 1- Doctor on call
Services are offered where people can call a toll free number and seek health advise... But:
How do we know who is calling or who is answering?
Are problems real, exaggerated or genuine?
Who takes medico-legal responsibility?
How does a prescription get signed?
How do we ensure person gets the right drugs or correctly understands/follows advice

Level 2 - An intermediary introduced
A Village Health Champion for each 200 families
One person in the village is authorized to call
She is trained and accredited for facilitation & providing paramedical services
But still had many limitations like -
Still a reactive care, no focus on prevention
Cognitive skills of VHC span a limited range
Prescription printing , delivery of medicines limited
Lack of clinical data and tests limit clinical decision making
Financial incentives not enough to be full time

CUSTOMIZED HANDHELD DEVICE Innovative Applications

Replaced mobile phone with customized integrated handheld device
GPRS, WiFi, Broadband
Biometric ID
Smart card reader
Built in printer
Camera
External physiological sensors
TFT display
Resistive touch screen
Multi-lingual customizable soft keypad
Built in speaker
Standard Audio interface
Two USB ports

Introduced CDSS
Menu driven registration, history taking and vital signs recording
Local triaging if the VHC should treat, call or transfer
Logged transaction (GPS, time, date, ID stamped) enable quality control and process refinement

Example: Simple consult Patient goes to VHC Biometric ID validation VHC records Signs & Symptoms Information sent through GPRS to Web based server Physician in the city analyses and issues prescription/ referral / test advice Data sent to HHD VHC arranges logistics for further evaluation, medication & treatment Printing of Prescription at the village VHC provides OTC medicines & collects samples at site if needed

THANKYOU [email_address]

Cost Effective MHealth Solutions for Developing Countries

by Health Informatics New Zealand on Oct 08, 2009

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Cost Effective MHealth Solutions for Developing Countries — Presentation Transcript