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How Digital Health is Being SuccessfullyUsed in Developing Countries
By Michael Rucker, PhD, MBAMichael Rucker, PhD, MBAUpdated May 20, 2016
There are more cellphones on the planet than there are toilets or toothbrushes. Most ofthe world population now has access to a mobile phone and a mobile signal. Althoughtechnology is far from a panacea, there has never before been more potential for buildingpersonal connections and using new technologies in a purposeful way that can increasethe quality of life for everyone.
In countries where access to health care is difficult and infrastructure is poor, "mHealth"can play an important role in bridging the divide between the developed and developingworld.
HEALTH TECH
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With the help of the ubiquitous mobile phone, diseases are now easier to diagnose andtrack, information can be disseminated quicker and reach more people, and online healtheducation is more readily available to professionals and citizens in developing nations.
Receiving Health Text Messages WorldwideReceiving Health Text Messages Worldwide
In her speech at the United Nations, Nancy Finn, a writer and thought leader on theimpact of digital communication, presented some successful and inspiring pilot projectsthat are underway in the developing world.
Short Message Services (SMS) are now being widely used to educate people and providethem with information on best practices. In Bangladesh, new and expectant mothers canopt to receive twice weekly SMS reminders about checkups, medication and nutritionguidelines. Across Africa, text messages in local dialects are sent to cellphone users to tellthem about vaccination programs, malaria prevention, nutrition and basic hygiene.
Technology for Remote AreasTechnology for Remote Areas
Digital health efforts in the developing world are making health care more accessible. Inareas where there might be no running water or electricity, but there is a mobile signal,examinations and tests can now be performed and interpreted with the help of digitaltechnology.
Images of suspicious tissue can also be taken with a cellphone and sent to an expert inthe capital (or abroad) for inspection and treatment opinions.
In Botswana, local health workers have been taking images of skin rashes of HIV patientsand sending them for expert review using their mobile phones. This type of digitalcommunication has also been used for cervical cancer screening as well.
The scarcity of specialized laboratories is yet another challenge in developing countries.The Nikon Coolscope digital microscope is an example of a device that enables accuratesample analysis no matter the location. After a tissue sample is taken and dissected, it isplaced inside the Coolscope. The device is able to digitalize the image and transmit it viasatellite to a remote, specialized facility that can analyze it within 30 minutes, potentiallysaving many lives.
Knowledge, too, can travel a lot faster with the help of digital technology and novel waysof communicating. Patricia Monthe, originally from Cameroon, describes how she almostlost her sister in infancy due to a wrong diagnosis.
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Monthe now promotes a virtual platform that can easily bring health resources toprofessionals and patients in developing countries and increase the chances of survivalfor patients like her sister.
Innovations from the Developing WorldInnovations from the Developing World
Not all innovation starts in the West and gets exported to other parts of the world. JeffreyImmelt, CEO of General Electric, points out that developing countries have some uniquecharacteristics that can make them more creative when looking for low-cost solutions toeveryday problems. General Electric’s team in China designed a portable ultrasound thatcan be plugged into a laptop. Not only does this device cost significantly less than itstraditional counterpart, but it is also possible to use it in remote rural areas. GeneralElectric then took it a step further and developed a handheld ultrasound that costs lessthan $8,000 compared to $100,000 for a traditional ultrasound device. The innovation isnow available in the United States, signaling a new trend of health innovation comingfrom developing countries penetrating more developed markets.
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How Mobility is Changing the Way WeThink About Digital Health
By Michael Rucker, PhD, MBAMichael Rucker, PhD, MBAUpdated December 09, 2015
HEALTH TECH
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As digital technology progresses, the public is becoming savvier too. At the same time,the digital revolution in health care is well on its way, supported by the Affordable CareAct’s requirement to track patient outcomes. Wearable technology wirelessly transmittingdata and enabling a whole new health and wellness experience is becoming the norm.
Smart Patients in Charge of Their HealthSmart Patients in Charge of Their Health
Dr. Leslie Saxon, a cardiologist and executive director of the USC Center for BodyComputing, describes the current medical model as a service model that does not alwaysserve the best interest of the patient.
Being a patient is often challenging; for example, simply accessing one’s own medicalrecords can be troublesome. The promise of easy accessibility is one of the reasons whymedical professionals have welcomed digital technology. It has the potential to create abetter experience for the patient by putting him or her in the driver’s seat, creating amore balanced partnership with providers.
Nowadays many people have some of their health needs met by using digital tools. Forinstance, Saxon and her team at USC invented an app called a Biogram, which expandsthe care options of heart patients regardless of their geographical location. With the helpof a heart rate monitor that is built into the user’s smartphone case, the user’s heart rategets recorded and stored. Biogram, a free app developed using Apple’s ResearchKit,allows the user to share the image of his or her heart rhythm and post it online.
Different specialists can then examine the image, and the patient can receive timelyfeedback without even making a physical appointment. Moreover, this app can advancehealth research by collecting data from a large number of users and transforming theminto research participants (providing the users give their consent).
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This could become a potentially life-changing way of harnessing smartphone technologyand could improve population health.
Communicating with Your (Virtual) DoctorCommunicating with Your (Virtual) Doctor
Virtual clinics where a patient can talk to a hologram of his or her physician are beingtrialed and might eventually enter the mainstream. It is already possible to access yourdoctor via smartphone to further discuss your treatment options and get evidence-basedadvice that is displayed on your phone’s monitor. Live video chats with specialists andother telemedicine modalities are becoming more common and are on the rise as theresolution of the camera on most modern smartphones is sufficient for medicalexaminers to perform many basic observations.
Virtual health care has benefits over traditional office visits; it allows medical providers toscale a personalized approach while enabling users quick access to health-care providers
Smartphones are Closing the Digital DivideSmartphones are Closing the Digital Divide
Many believe the popularity of smartphones is helping to bridge the digital divide.
As more people access information with the help of their phones, health-care informationis easily accessible to anyone. Inexpensive and free medical mobile apps are educatingand empowering people in novel ways. Mobile technology and apps can engage peoplewho might otherwise stay disconnected. Moreover, smartphones are an excellent portalfor disease prevention and can help people preserve their health and well-being bystaying informed and health responsible.
Millennials might find smartphone technology particularly useful. Known for eagerlyembracing new digital technology, this group in particular can easily be reached via thismedium. The Young Invincibles — an NGO that acts as a research and advocacy group for18- to 34-year-olds — recognizes the potential mobile technology has in improving thelives of young people. They encourage the use of smartphone apps to get familiar withdifferent health-care options and to find health-care services. The organization alsodeveloped a free app called Healthy Young America, which aims to improve health-careliteracy and access to primary care amongst millennials.
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