Technology

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The ability of Information and communications technologies (ICTs) to increase productivity and efficiency has been proven in virtually every economic sector except the health sector, where especially in low and middle income countries it has lagged badly. The mHealth Alliance is committed to enabling a continuum of care underpinned and enabled by ICTs that can promote well being and help save lives. The over 5 billion mobile phones worldwide are an important part of the promise of ICTs for improved health outcomes, especially in the case of maternal and newborn health and wellness.
 
The opportunities to leverage ICTs include:
 

  • Work with leaders in relevant communities to foster improved understanding of the transformative potential of modern ICT (add ‘for health outcomes’), especially mobile.

  • Help put in place a basic interoperable, standards-based information system linking patients, providers, information, supplies, and protocols along the continuum of care.

  • Leverage this technology for appropriate  interventions, novel approaches and new methodologies for measuring impacts using this modern, efficient and data rich ICT environment.

  • Document the eHealth, health, economic value chains and “business cases” throughout the continuum of care.

  • Forge partnerships, public and private, based on these value chains to successfully deployment at scale.

  • Share information, best practices, and capacity building for these purposes within the global health and technology communities needs to be established.

By the end of 2010, close to 90% of the world’s population will have wireless coverage and 65% of subscribers are in the developing world. With mobile phone penetration growing at an unprecedented rate, there is an enormous opportunity to utilize this platform to scale support for recognized health interventions.
 
Mobiles can “reach the unreached.” They can empower the public with information, enable remote health workers, reduce inefficiencies, provide training, improve monitoring of activities and outcomes, support remote diagnostics, and support electronic payments. Finally, mobile technology can support a growing evidence base that can be combined with other data sources to support improved decision-making by health practitioners, researchers and policymakers alike.