eHealth: A Model for Developing Countries

Abstract

A primary resource for reliable information on the application and use of information technology in all aspects of health and health care nationally, regionally and internationally. Abstract This paper proposes a model, or framework for analysis, to inform the development of eHealth in developing countries. The framework has five components – the 5Cs. Firstly there is the Context of poverty, meeting the Millennium Development Goals and the role ICT can play to support health workers. Then, there is the Content of health information provided to health workers and how it can be migrated from being paper-based to a digital format. Providing wireless Connectivity within and between health facilities that supports the transmission of health knowledge and management information provides an entry-level health information infrastructure. Over such a health facility-based wireless infrastructure it then becomes possible to build workforce Capacity as well as support Community development, via the delivery of information to enable better individual and community decision-making in health and other development issues. Introduction Advances in information and communica-tion technologies (ICT) have raised expecta-tions for health, and the WHO is now facilitat-ing " the development of model eHealth solu-tions which, with appropriate modification, could be established in national centres and networks of excellence for eHealth " .