Africa Telemedicine Future Outlook and opportunities: Ken Research
What is the Current Scenario of Healthcare in Africa?
Albeit recent improvements in the
country’s health care services; the health of large proportion of Africans is
still not at par. Sub-Saharan Africa is home of ~% of the global population;
however, it carries ~% of the world’s disease burden. The continent is deprived
of basic healthcare conditions which could be justified by the basic indicators
of health such as high child and maternal mortality rates, low birth weights of
the children, and poor sanitation and healthcare access. Moreover, Africa has
only ~ physicians per 1,000 people as of 2014 despite of the presence of
widespread communicable diseases.
These problems are combined with
lack of high quality network infrastructure, which also eliminates the
possibility of better healthcare opportunities with the help of telemedicine.
Most African countries have poor broadband and internet infrastructure which is
critical for the roll out of telediagnosis, teleconsultation, teletreatment and
telemonitoring through teleclinics. The countries are in urgent need for
upgradation of information and communication (ICT) tools to improve the digital
environment and enable the feasibility of electronic healthcare. Some countries
such as South Africa and Ethiopia have made significant progress in their ICT
infrastructure whereas countries such as Burkina Faso and Nigeria have been
slow in implementing changes due to lack of political will.
Over that, installing equipment for
facilitating e-diagnosis requires heavy investment, which surfaces as a
hindrance for companies to venture into this space. Moreover, healthcare
professionals don’t prefer to take the risk of utilizing substandard medical
instruments for the same, as it could lead to misdiagnosis through unclear
images and even lead to malpractice suits.
Telemedicine
So Far
Government of Kenya launched its
first phase of the National Telemedicine Initiative in year 2013, which aims to
improve access to better healthcare for economically challenged people and
people living in rural regions of the country. The telemedicine program is
planned to provide a platform that will be capable to help patients and
healthcare providers residing in rural areas to have interaction with
healthcare experts at Kenya’s main referral hospital, Kenyatta National
Hospital (KNH) with the help of videoconferencing. The initiative is a
partnership project of Kenya’s Ministry of Health and German pharmaceutical
company Merck Group. The telemedicine initiative will link KNH to the Machakos
Level Five Hospital located in the eastern parts of the country.
What are the Some of the E-Health Projects in South Africa?
This particular project makes use of simple and cheap store and forward technology to transmit patient images electronically to a specialist for diagnosis and treatment. Currently in pilot stage, the project utilizes email to enhance dermatological care in relatively rural areas of South Africa.
Teleradiology
The Pretoria Academic Hospital (PAH) is a tertiary institution serving people residing in Mpumulanga and nearby regions; is considered as final referral center for neurological problems. The hospital has team of specialists who are experienced and expert in preventing damages, permanent disabilities and other sequelae after precipitating event (stroke, motor vehicle accident, etc)…
Mindset Health Channel was launched in year 2003 with the partnership between the National Department of Health (DoH), Mindset and Sentech. The channel was started with an aim to implement a satellite broadcast channel to spread medical knowledge about HIV/AIDS to healthcare workers across healthcare facilities in the nation.
Primary
Health Care Telemedicine Workstation
In 2004, South African Medical
Research Council (MRC) and Stellenbosch University collaborated on a project to
develop workstations equipped with panel of devices, software and computer
interface for medical practice and video conferencing in a workstation.
SOUTH AFRICA / CHINA BILATERAL AGREEMENT
South Africa and China have signed several bilateral agreements in the field of healthcare in the last couple of decades to explore healthcare opportunities among various other aims. As a result, South African telemedicine companies have benefited significantly. For instance, Telemedicine Africa, South Africa based telemedicine products company, has been working with Yunnan SUNPA Image Tel Tech Co., LTD (SUNPA), China based telemedicine products company on research projects since 2003, as part of the South Africa-China science and technology bilateral agreement on technology transfer…
RAPID DEPLOYMENT FIELD HOSPITAL / MOBILE PATHLAB
eHealth Research and Innovation
Platform Division of South Africa government designed specialized shipping
containers under the Mobile Pathlab program that can be used in remote
locations and harsh conditions for diagnostics purposes.
Key Factors Considered in the
Report
Comprehensive analysis of Africa E-Health space with new ventures in the
space
Identified major developments in last few years and assessed the future
growth of the industry
Government initiatives taken to stimulate the growth of the market along
with future government plans to improve the health conditions in the country
through electronic medium
mHealth Opportunity Uganda
Nigeria Telemedicine Market
Telemedicine Market Growth
Telemedicine Adoption Africa
Telemedicine Centers in Africa
Telemedicine Technology Africa
Telepathology Industry Overview
Bostwana Telemedicine Challenges
Healthcare Delivery Model ehealth Africa
Rural Implementation Telemedicine Africa
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Ken Research
Ankur Gupta, Head Marketing & Communications
Ankur@kenresearch.com
+91-9015378249
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