While Africa continues to face challenges around healthcare accessibility and cost, there are glimmers of hope on the digital horizon, writes Rodney Taylor, MD of Guardian Eye.
Technology has immense potential to help countries across the continent resolve the complexities that come with healthcare across vast distances and income brackets. For example, research has found that there aren’t enough healthcare workers to adequately provide healthcare support and care to people in Africa. Research by the World Health Organisation highlighted how in South Africa, for example, there are not enough health workers needed to deliver quality of care.
Mobile health has also evolved within this space as it allows for practitioners to stay in touch with patients in remote areas without the need for a physical appointment. Using mobile devices, practitioners can send SMS-based reminders and educational messages that enable preventative care and improve the management of disease.
For example, artificial intelligence while still relatively nascent in the healthcare field, can be used to increase the speed and accuracy of diagnoses. When this technology is wedded to data input into a telehealth system, for example, then practitioners can diagnose and treat patients across all locations at speed. This can reduce the burden of diseases like TB and malaria by providing patients and practitioners with quick and effective treatment.
The use of innovative and intelligent technology can also be used to reimagine the current holes in patient records which affect accurate healthcare and patient management. By promoting better data management and information sharing through Electronic Health Records , healthcare systems can improve continuity of care and decision-making.
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