IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The Government has started implementing the National Health Information and E-Health Strategy, ahead of the pilot phase of the Electronic Patient Administration System (e-PAS), geared at linking patients’ records to all medical facilities. Since October 2014, implementation of the system at the Santa Cruz and Darliston Centres of Excellence has resulted in 13,000 records being created. This was noted by Minister of Health, Dr Fenton Ferguson, while making his contribution to the 2015/2016 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representative, today.

This week I am focusing on another area that many Jamaicans may not have considered: Telemedicine and Telehealth. Telemedicine is most often defined as "the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve, maintain or assist patients' health status" and "Telehealth" is a term that usually encompasses more than clinical services, covering continuing education, remote monitoring of vital signs and more.

In a recent interview with The Jordan Times, Adwan said the academy would provide training for any healthcare givers with BA degrees who want to develop their skills on the use of e-health programmes.

Referring to the e-Health Programme “Hakeem” launched at Prince Hamzah Public Hospital on Friday, the King credited the successful implementation of the programme in part to Jordan’s broadband capacity.

He also acknowledged the support of Cisco Systems, noting that the company first came to Jordan in 2002 to help the Kingdom improve its education sector.

The agreement stipulates that within seven years, most public health centres and hospitals will be included in the programme, which is meant to improve healthcare services by allowing health records to be stored and shared digitally on a fibre optic network.

"We have signed agreements with the King Hussein Cancer Centre, Prince Hussein Hospital and the Ain Al Basha Health Centre" to implement the e-health programme there, Shaden Qandil, marketing and communications manager at e-Health Solutions, the company operating the programme, said on Sunday.

Hakeem CEO Rami Adwan said that in order to improve healthcare services in public hospitals and provide better services for patients, the company is currently working on a system that will send reminders to patients when they have scheduled tests or medical procedures.

The plan seeks to upgrade the health services offered to citizens. In the long term, it is designed to create a database of patients’ medical histories across the Kingdom, covering all state-run hospitals, the Royal Medical Services, Al Hussein Cancer Centre and the public universities’ educational hospitals.

During a visit to Prince Hamzah Public Hospital (PHPH) yesterday, where the Hakeem programme was launched, the King stressed the need to implement the project, commending the success of the experimental phase.

By connecting Prince Hamzah Hospital with Mafraq Public Hospital and Queen Rania Hospital in Petra District via telemedicine technology, “823 clinical consultations and procedures were conducted for patients in these two hospitals since June 2011,” Wreikat told reporters at a press conference on the sidelines of the MENA ICT Forum at the Dead Sea.

Minister of Health Abdul Latif Wreikat said the programme will be gradually implemented in the Kingdom's public hospitals and health centres based on regulations that will be developed by partners.

However, these facilities must first be connected to the National Fibre Optic Network, the minister said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times yesterday.

Underlining the importance of the initiative, prepared in collaboration with Cisco, Minister of Health Nayef Fayez said it will be implemented in the country's 32 public hospitals, noting that the national e-health programme launched early 2009 is an integral part of the initiative.

During a visit to Prince Hamzah Hospital, where the project was launched, King Abdullah also instructed the government to provide the state-run hospital with the equipment and staff needed to provide advanced services to citizens.

Even as the novel coronavirus pandemic throws the global economy into turmoil and as commercial activities are paralyzed in Japan under the state of emergency declared by the government, at least one sector is seeing an expansion in demand — “virtual” business models and online transactions that do not involve face-to-face meetings.

Hiroshi Mikitani, chairman and CEO of Rakuten Inc., the massive operator of online shopping malls, says the group is doing brisk business — except for its travel unit. Government “stay-home” requests have sharply reduced demand for travel, but the growing thirst for internet-based services is making up for the losses. E-commerce by consumers buying daily necessities, web-based securities trade, viewership for videos and sports events, and videoconferences on social media are on the rise.

The Osaka Prefectural Government on May 29 launched a system for people to register their email addresses at shops and other locales they visit, enabling it to warn them if they have potentially come into contact with someone infected with the novel coronavirus.

Shops, event organizers and other facilities post a QR code issued by the "Osaka COVID-19 Tracing System" at the entrance. Visitors can then read the code with their smartphones and register their email addresses online. Registrants will then be informed by email if someone else who has been in the same spot on the same day tests positive for the virus, depending on the infection risk and conditions at the facility. A total of 2,586 people had registered with the system as of 4 p.m. on May 29.

The county government of Uasin Gishu has partnered with International Training & Education Centre for Health (I-tech) to provide computers to different health facilities.

Hospitals in the county will benefit from automation of their services.

Speaking after touring Huruma Hospital in Eldoret on Wednesday, the county personnel in charge of e-health Dr David Kirui said that the county is spearheading the implementation of Hospital Management System (HMIS).

Digital medical records will help cut costs by eliminating duplication of tests as patients’ records will be available online.

“This is coming. There is nothing you will do to stop it,” said Dr Bitange Ndemo (pictured) , the Information ministry PS, when he addressed the annual Kenya Medical Association Scientific Conference last week.

Africa's first healthcare accelerator will be launched in Kenya, courtesy of German companies Ampion and Merck.

According to Ampion, the accelerator will take up startups and entrepreneurs venturing in e-health solutions with large scale impact in the society.

"Our goal is to work with people who are starting or have been doing business in the health care sector in the Kenya. Healthcare is of course an important sector in Kenya with many opportunities to venture into," Ampion co-founder and head of communications, Jan Schafft said in Nairobi.