The Journal of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (JISfTeH) has published its latest issue today (13 Jan). JISfTeH is one of the few journals which shine a bright spot on digital health in developing countries. This month concentrates on conflict countries and COVID in India:
- Scaling Up Digital Health In Conflict Countries discusses the lack of any form of digital health and coordination in Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, and, with some exception, Nigeria. It compounds the extreme lack of healthcare services–for instance, 23 percent of Afghanis have poor access to healthcare, resulting in a high mortality rate. It can change. Rwanda, once synonymous with war, has one of the best healthcare systems in Africa due to the use of digital health services. India is using digital health in combating the TB explosion of 300,000 cases in one year. The exception in Nigeria is the liftoff of 54Gene, a genomic studies company in the world’s most genetically-diverse continent, which has secured $4.5 million in seed funding.
- Speaking of India, telehealth has been kickstarted there due to COVID-19. The Indian Government is prioritizing the use of telehealth in the population and both public and private institutions have rolled out initiatives. India’s challenges are how patients pay for it (70% of healthcare expenses out of pocket) and how it reaches the two-thirds of population in rural areas where there is inadequate telecom and broadband for services. The irony, of course, is that India is a huge exporter of software and telecom services to the world. COVID-19 As A Catalyst for Telehealth Growth In India: Some Insights.
The editorial by Richard E. Scott of Canada and Prof. Maurice Mars of South Africa, COVID-19 and eHealth: A Promise or Peril Paradox?, cautions on the floodgates opening for telehealth in COVID’s wake. Spontaneous telehealth, where “healthcare providers themselves saw the value of an eHealth solution and implemented it independently and without traditional steps or approval” is quite separate from evidence- and needs-based telehealth. There is a lot of pressure at the national level, by the WHO, and by vendors to ‘make hay while the sun shines’. “Enthusiasm must be tempered with thoughtful guidance” on multiple and quite variable factors.
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