Leveraging e-health for future-oriented healthcare systems in developing countries

Abstract

Health IT has become a driving force for health institutions to embrace holistic integration so as to offer high-quality diagnoses and to provide solutions designed to assist medical personnel to improve patients' healthcare. However, success of integrating IT in healthcare has been seen mainly in developed countries. Health institutions in developing and least developed countries are still being challenged by many factors that have hindered the successful integration of IT in healthcare. Readiness has been one of the major challenges for electronic health (e-health) implementation in developing countries' health institutions. It is therefore essential that health institutions in developing countries carryout E -health readiness assessment prior to its implementation. The goal of this study was to report on the E-health readiness assessment model contextualized in developing countries. The study employed the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) to validate the data that was collected from health institutions of the rural North-west province of South Africa. The results indicated that core readiness is the most essential element for E-health readiness. The designed model will be used both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, it will be used in the investigation of new ways of implementing E-health in developing countries. Practically, the model will be used to assist healthcare decision makers and governments to make informed decisions on how to grant citizens affordable access to healthcare, especially those in disadvantaged rural areas.