IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Initiatives such as Health TV in clinics and using SMS and email to track patients with chronic diseases and HIV/Aids mean that the City’s health department is already serious about turning Joburg into a smarter and healthier city by 2040.

“There is a need for us to use innovative ways to solve health problems, so we must constantly keep abreast of technological innovations,” said Nonceba Molwele, the member of the mayoral committee for health and social services, at the third session of the GDS2040 Smart Cities Week.

Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and other recurring conditions top the list of health threats that impact the greatest number of people and contribute to high healthcare expenses worldwide.

The cost of treating chronic conditions accounts for an estimated two-thirds of global healthcare spending.

A new application designed by two doctors from South Africa could help with patient assessments.

Two doctors have created an mhealth app that has been designed to help overburdened and over-stressed nurses and EMS healthcare workers to be able to better assess the needs of patients in South Africa emergency centers.

The doctors, from Cape Town, are named Yaseen Khan and Mohammed Dalwai, from the Open Medicine Project of South Africa.

Speaking at the inaugural summit on mobile health last week, deputy minister Obed Bapela said SA has been chosen to host the next three summits by Global Society Mobile Health and the Mobile Health Alliance.

He added that the summit's aim is to come up with practical solutions, relevant to developing countries, on how mobile health can help improve healthcare delivery.

The initiative, the Mobile Health Information System (MHIS), is a collaborative effort that uses mobile technology to support the work of rural health professionals. The pilot project was rolled out in two phases, and now provides health workers in community health centres, tertiary and district hospitalswith an Internet-capable, commercially available smart phone pre-loaded with a locally-relevant, reliable clinical library containing about 4,000 pages of content. The Mobile Health Library includes South African treatment guidelines, drug formularies, diagnostic tools, and other evidence-based content. Information is downloaded using 3G connectivity from the ECDOH mobile library portal to mobile devices.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Telemedicine Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, covering South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali and Cameroon, finds that the greatest challenge in implementing telemedicine solutions is inadequate connectivity in rural areas.

It is a fact. Healthcare in South Africa implies, for some, long queues at state hospitals and clinics, and for others exorbitant private doctors' fees. Also a fact, our health practitioners are overworked.

One of the solutions proposed by the government and the private sector is telemedicine. It is already in place in South Africa, and uses technology to perform the routine and basic diagnosis of illness, prescribe medication and transmit and store health data - over the internet and by telephone.

The effective use of smart city elements will enable true public healthcare by keeping the population informed of critical updates.

Rapid urbanisation, primarily due to economic migration in cities, such as Johannesburg, has placed additional strains on scarce resources, including healthcare services.

Johannesburg, in particular, struggles to meet demands for emergency medical care, especially when emergency departments have reached critical capacity and ambulances have to be diverted to nearby hospitals.

We attended the AfricaCom 2020 convention in Cape Town last November 2017 and caught up with some of the EHealth experts present there to try and get a better feel for what is happening in this field. We asked them about the need for EHealth solutions, examples of what is currently out there and how these digital healthcare solutions work.

The definition of EHealth

Ehealth refers to the digitization of healthcare; putting digital tools in the hands of healthcare professional and patients. “In practice this encompasses many aspects of digital health, including: electronic patient management systems, digital health records, mHealth or mobile solutions, telemedicine and much more”, explains Taryn Springhall, Editor at eHealthNews.

When President Edgar Lungu addressed the second session of the 12th National Assembly on September 15, 2017, he emphasised the important role information and communications technology (ICT) plays in Zambia’s socio-economic development.

In a nutshell, it is ICT that has brought about electronic governance or e-governance.

Deputy Minister of Health Christopher Mulenga said adopting new methodologies and approaches to manage provisions of health services is imperative to the growth of the health sector.

Mr Mulenga said the ministry is currently reviewing how best the health services delivery can be done through electronic and mobile technologies.

The integrated health situation room was the buzz term almost a fortnight ago in Zambia’s health circles.

As a new tool to fast track the HIV/AIDS response in Zambia, it bears significance for being the first integrated situation room in Africa.

It was launched on March 6 by President Edgar Lungu and UNAIDS executive director, Michel Sidibé who was on an official visit to Zambia.

The newly introduced patients’ electronic health record system at Zambia’s highest medical facility, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) has come as a great relief to both patients and medical staff.

For Charity Chileya, a resident of Lusaka’s Kamwala township accessing medical care from the facility was a nightmare.

POTRAZ, the local telecoms regulator signed a $300,000 agreement with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that will facilitate the introduction of telemedicine services in 2016 for rural clinics and hospitals.

Starting in January, remote public health facilities will be accessing telemedicine facilities that include online diagnosis, remote consultation for specific conditions, communication of information such as broadcasting of alerts and updates on potential outbreaks.

Government is set to introduce tele-medicine in all rural health facilities beginning in January 2016, following the signing of a $300 000 agreement by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) last month.

Tele-medicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies to provide clinical health care using two-way communication between the patient and a healthcare provider.

The discovery of writing skills made it possible for man to remember disease and how to manage it.

Results of that 2 000-year-old discovery are the institutions of knowledge we see today that now form the pillar of present-day health care practice.

The symposium, held under the theme, ‘Unleashing e-health for a healthy nation: Tapping into opportunities that enable healthy outcomes’, will also see awards being presented, and will showcase an exhibition.