Impacting health through technology

As in many developing countries, some of the biggest healthcare problems facing Botswana concern healthcare provision.  Lack of a skilled workforce, inadequate infrastructure, limited resources and paper-based systems continue to present challenges towards the delivery of quality healthcare across the country.  But, speaking to a rapt audience at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School last Wednesday, Botswana’s Minister of Health, Rev. Dr John Seakgosing, asserted that these problems are being addressed—and progress is being made—through the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in Botswana’s healthcare system.

His presentation was the first of four in a panel discussion entitled ‘e-Health for Development: using technology to improve healthcare for the world’s poor.’ The audience—packed with students, medical professionals, ICT enthusiasts and interested individuals—also heard from Professor Geoff Walsham, Professor Ian Leslie and Dr Peter Gough on the use of ‘impactful, sustainable and scalable’ ICT in the healthcare systems of developing countries.

The Minister of Health was full of enthusiasm for a new electronic Integrated Patient Management System (IPMS) in Botswana, which has already been adopted in seven hospitals and sixteen clinics. Among the many uses of the IPMS are patient admissions & scheduling, prescription & labs management and accounts administration. The IPMS is also designed as a data repository, connecting district health information systems to the Ministry of Health, thus centralizing data collection and making it possible to monitor, analyse and share data on all levels of the system. The Minister sees the expanding use of ICT in healthcare as “a vehicle for developing countries to leapfrog into a first-world-country standard of medicine.”

Professor Geoff Walsham (Judge Business School) spoke on the topic of ‘Information for action in Public Health systems in developing countries.’ Drawing on examples from India and South Africa, he demonstrated how the regular collection and use of data at all levels of the healthcare system is necessary for effective action to improve health.  He spoke about the barriers to data collection in paper-based systems, but he also strongly cautioned that the introduction of computers could not, on its own, develop an “information culture” which values accurate collection of data, nor produce motivated and knowledgeable healthcare workers. Rather, a Health Information Systems Programme (HISP) needs to be part of “heterogeneous networks of people, technology, standards, institutions and processes.” Change programmes need to address all of these elements “holistically and over an extended period of time.”

In a presentation on ‘Using the public mobile network for health care (m-Health),’ Professor Ian Leslie (Cambridge University Computer Laboratory) spoke about the potential “drivers and inhibitors” of mobile phone applications (apps) for healthcare. Based on a brief survey on the uses of m-Health apps through the China Mobile network, he argued that two of the main factors in an app’s success are its value to the patient/consumer, and its interaction with the healthcare system. He believes that consumers will be the driving force behind innovation for new apps and “plug-ins”, like a recently developed aberrometer (diagnostic instrument for scanning the eye) that can be attached to a mobile phone and feed data into the application.

Rounding up the panel discussion was Dr. Peter Gough, GP and Chairman of Trustees for Khandel Light, a charity dedicated to improving the quality of life in 26 rural villages in Rajasthan, India. Dr Gough explained the role of ICT in advancing Khandel Light’s healthcare projects.  Phones and email have become invaluable in communication between Khandel Light members in Cambridge and community partners in Rajasthan, even allowing Dr. Gough to be ‘present’ at partner meetings.  Fourteen health workers that cover the region have all been equipped with mobile phones, enabling them to communicate efficiently.  Dr. Gough’s hope for the future is that computerised medical records will lead to e-referrals, e-advice and even e-learning, linking residents of rural Rajasthan to medical expertise elsewhere, without requiring their movement to the cities.

The diversity of the audience, the engaging Q&A discussion which followed the presentations, and the popularity of the networking session afterwards indicated a deep interest in the intersection of ICTs, development and healthcare.  The event was part of the ICT4D-themed year run by the Humanitarian Centre in partnership with ARM.  It was co-hosted by the Humanitarian Centre and the Judge Business School’s Centre for Health Leadership & Enterprise.

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By Anne Radl  ~  24 January 2011

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Links

Listen to the podcasts:

e-Health in Botswana by Rev. Dr John Seakgosing

Information for Action by Professor Geoff Walsham

Using the Public Mobile Network for Health Care by Professor Ian Leslie

e-Health for Development by Dr Peter Gough

Panel discussion

Download the presentations:

Information for Action by Professor Geoff Walsham

Using the Public Mobile Network for Health Care by Professor Ian Leslie

e-Health for Development by Dr Peter Gough