Information Technology in Medicine

Information technology in medicine
Tele medicine & E-diagnosis
Dr Chimezie Okwuonu
College of Medicine
Gregory University
Tele- medicine
• Tele Medicine is defined as rapid remote access to
shared experiences/expertise by means of
telecommunications and information technologies,
regardless of when/where the patient or
practitioner or relevant information is located.
• This is an initiative that leverages on simple &

available telecommunications technology to
improve access to and enhance quality health care
services.
Background
• The tremendous reach and substantial
influence of telecommunication technology
over almost all areas of our day to day living
has made it an indispensable component with
the potential to impact beyond our social lives
Justification
• The current access (35-45%) to basic, quality
healthcare services in Nigeria pales in comparison
to the exponential growth being witnessed in the
telecommunications sector.
• This strongly positions the ubiquitous

telecommunications technology as a veritable tool
to drive other sector service delivery for example,
financial, education and now healthcare.
Uses
• Tele-health is tailored towards supporting patients with
minor, non-emergency healthcare needs such as
• coughs, rashes
• patients with ongoing NCCDs such as hypertension,
diabetes, etc;
• persons with behavioral healthcare challenges like
addiction, aged and disable persons benefitting from
active palliative, rehabilitative care,
• persons with socially stigmatizing conditions like mental
health problems
• in some cases sexual reproductive health issues
Concept
• Tele Health Medicine consist of a remote network of
medical doctors providing clinical support and
supervisory assistance to local primary healthcare
workers
• Aim is to profer better diagnoses, treatments and

holistic management options for their patients,
• Also to document, track, monitor, and report (if public

health necessary) of conditions as deemed notable in
our local communities.
Objectives of Tele health
1
• Improve access to and outcome of healthcare,
so that any person with a mobile phone
irrespective of the presence of a health
institution or their proximity to one is able to
'benefit' albeit remotely from a virtual
healthcare system through transfer of simple
health information
Objective of Tele Health
2
• Advance simple health care knowledge,
attitude, practice and skill to those people
who for real reasons (lack of resources
whether money, time, human or
infrastructural capital, etc) will ordinarily
forego seeking clinical options for less
'palatable' alternatives
Objective of Tele Health
3
• Increase public awareness to public health
matters: whether routine (like immunization),
or non routine (like re/newly emerging disease
threats) events through targeted/mass
dissemination of public or personal health
information/intelligence to diverse or target
population or person.
Method
The Abia State Project
• Step 1- Selection of communities and Primary
health care centre using set down criteria. E.g
inadequate manpower, peculiar demographics,
poor state of current health support, availability of
funding
• Step 2- Selection of focal persons in each PHC
• Step 3- Provision of Desk top phone with charger,
training manual, data collection and registration
SIM cards
• Step 4- Inaugural meeting and training date
Abia state experience
over a six months pilot project
• 15 PHC’s involved
7,224 incoming calls on general health concerns
58% were on routine health information
34% for stigmatizing conditions
2.7% for disease outbreaks
• 22% of total calls were between 5pm and 10pm
• Almost 50% of callers called from offices, shops etc
• 25%-30% callers were asked to present themselves
to the nearest PHC
Caution
• Tele- Health should not take the place of
patient-doctor contact
• Do not make diagnosis and prescribe
treatment over the phone unless their is a
middle man to do the examination for you.

Information Technology in Medicine

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Information Technology in Medicine

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Information technology in medicine

Tele medicine & E-diagnosis

• This is an initiative that leverages on simple &

• This strongly positions the ubiquitous

• Aim is to profer better diagnoses, treatments and

• Also to document, track, monitor, and report (if public

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