TITLE:
Prospects for Mobile Health in Pakistan and Other Developing Countries
AUTHORS:
Aqil Burney, Zain Abbas, Nadeem Mahmood, Qamar-ul Arifeen
KEYWORDS:
Mobile Health; Telemedicine; eHealth; mHealth; ICT; Heath Care in Pakistan
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Internet of Things,
Vol.3 No.2A,
June
18,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Pakistan is a developing country with more than half of its
population located in rural areas. These areas neither have sufficient health
care facilities nor a strong infrastructure that can address the health needs
of the people. The expansion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
around the globe has set up an unprecedented opportunity for delivery of
healthcare facilities and infrastructure in these rural areas of Pakistan as
well as in other developing countries. Mobile Health (mHealth)—the provision of
health care services through mobile telephony—will revolutionize the way health
care is delivered. From messaging campaigns to remote monitoring, mobile
technology will impact every aspect of health systems. This paper highlights
the growth of ICT sector and status of health care facilities in the developing
countries, and explores prospects of mHealth as a transformer for health
systems and service delivery especially in the remote rural areas.