Distributed processing and internet technology to solve challenges of primary healthcare in India

Abstract

National Reproductive and Child Health program, focused on Mother and Child Health, part of Millennium Developmental Goals, is being implemented through Primary Health Centers of the Public Healthcare System. The health record generated through community health interventions are manual, leading to undue delay in diagnosis and emergency care. In this paper, we show how Distributed Processing and Internet Technology can be applied through innovative platform called mHEALTH-PHC, to provide timely, quality healthcare to remote population using existing infrastructure. mHEALTH-PHC combines client server, cellular, mobile phone technologies and medical test equipment to establish two way connection between patient in a village and Public Healthcare System. Our field study shows that mHEALTH-PHC can be effective in health surveillance, thereby leading to prompt, efficient, quality healthcare. We take the consortium approach involving IT and Public Health experts, Directorate of Health Services, pharmaceutical and health insurance industries, to make quality healthcare affordable and sustainable. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.