RSS-Feed abonnieren
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1638734
Can ICTs Contribute to the Efficiency and Provide Equitable Access to the Health Care System in Sub-Saharan Africa? The Mali Experience
This work was supported by the University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, the International Institute of Development and Communication, the Canadian International Development Research Centre, and the Foundation for Children of Mali through the Children Mother Hospital “Luxembourg.”Publikationsverlauf
Publikationsdatum:
06. März 2018 (online)
Summary
Objective
The aim of this study is to demonstrate from actual projects that ICT can contribute to the balance of health systems in developing countries and to equitable access to human resources and quality health care service. Our study is focused on two essential elements which are: i) Capacity building and support of health professionals, especially those in isolated areas using telemedicine tools; ii) Strengthening of hospital information systems by taking advantage of full potential offered by open-source software.
Methods
Our research was performed on the activities carried out in Mali and in part through the RAFT (Réseau en Afrique Francophone pour la Télémédecine) Network. We focused mainly on the activities of e-learning, telemedicine, and hospital information systems. These include the use of platforms that work with low Internet connection bandwidth. With regard to information systems, our strategy is mainly focused on the improvement and implementation of opensource tools.
Results
Several telemedicine application projects were reviewed including continuing online medical education and the support of isolated health professionals through the usage of innovative tools. This review covers the RAFT project for continuing medical education in French-speaking Africa, the tele-radiology project in Mali, the “EQUI-ResHuS” project for equal access to health over ICT in Mali, The “Pact-e.Santé” project for community health workers in Mali.We also detailed a large-scale experience of an open-source hospital information system implemented in Mali: “Cinz@n”.
Conclusion
We report on successful experiences in the field of telemedicine and on the evaluation by the end-users of the Cinz@n project, a pilot hospital information system in Mali. These reflect the potential of healthcare-ICT for Sub-Saharan African countries.
-
References
- 1 www.who.int/healthacadem y/news/eHealth_EB_Res-fr.pdf
- 2 Thurin JM. La formation médicale continue a-telle une influence sur la pratique médicale? [Does continuing medical education have an influence on medical practice?]. Psychiatrie Française 2000; 01: 117-32.
- 3 Carriere M F, Harvey D. Etat de la formation médicale continue à distance en Amérique du nord. [Status of distance continuing medical education in North- America.] Revue du conseil Québécois de la formation à distance 2003; 51-72.
- 4 Kemp LJ. Learning about Teamwork in an online study environment. MERLOT, Journal of Online Learning and Teaching 2006; 02 (01) 30-41.
- 5 Brauchli K, O’Mahony D, Banach L, Oberhozer M. iPath – a Telemedicine Platform to Support Health Providers in Low resource Settings. The journal of information Technology in Healthcare 2005; 3 (04) 227-35.
- 6 Geissbuhler A, Ly O, Lovis C, L’Haire JF. Telemedicine in Western Africa: lessons learned from a pilot project in Mali, perspectives and recommendations. AMIA Annu Symp Proc 2003; 249-53.
- 7 Bagayoko CO, Mueller H, Geissbuhler A. Assessment of Internet-based Telemedicine in Africa (the RAFT Project). Comput Med Imaging Graph 2006; 30 (6-7): 407-16.
- 8 Geissbuhler A, Bagayoko CO, Ly O. The RAFT network: 5 years of distance continuing medical education and tele-consultations over the Internet in French-speaking Africa. Int J Med Inform 2007; 76: 351-6.
- 9 RAFT website. http://raft.hcuge.ch,last visit 20 February 2011
- 10 http://www.who.int/collaboratingcentres/en/
- 11 Bagayoko CO. Réseau de Télé-enseignement Médical: Identif ication des Barrières Technologiques, Organisationnelles et Humaines. [Medical e-learning network: identification of technological, organizational and human barriers.]. Master d’Informatique Bio-Médicale 2005-2006, Université de Paris 5..
- 12 Décret n°2010-1229 du 19 octobre 2010 relatif à la télémédecine [2010 Decree from the French government on Telemedicine]. http://www. legifrance.gouv.fr/
- 13 EQUI-ResHuS website. www.certesmali.org/equireshus
- 14 Bagayoko CO, Niang M, Traoré ST, Bediang G, Naef JM, Geissbuhler A. Deploying Portable Ultrasonography with Remote Assistance for Isolated Physicians in Africa: Lessons from a Pilot Study in Mali. Stud Health Technol Inform 2010; 160 (Pt 1): 554-8.
- 15 Amarasingham R, Plantinga L, Diener-West M, Gaskin DJ, Powe NR. Clinical information technologies and inpatient outcomes. A multiple hospital study. Arch Int Med 2009; 169 (02) 108-14.
- 16 Website Mediboard. www.mediboard.org
- 17 Bagayoko CO, Dufour JC, Chaacho S, Bouhhadou O, Fieschi M. Open Source Challenges for Hospital Information System (HIS) in developing countries: a pilot project in Mali. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2010; Apr 16 (10) 22 Available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6947/10/22.
- 18 Bagayoko CO, Traore AK. Analyse du contexte des Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication dans le développement des Ressources Humaines en santé au Mali. [Context analysis of ICT for the development of human resources for health in Mali.]. Etude de synthèse, décembre. 2010