1. The use of e-health and mHealth Technology in the ED: An Emerging Tool for the Competent Physician
Dr Paa Kobina Forson

2. Defining e-health and mhealth
Overview
Where are we in Ghana
Contextualizing ehealth and mhealth
Ehealth and mhealth in KATH
The future…

3. Objectives Describe ehealth and mHealth
Describe a global view of eHealth and mhealth
Describe the use of ehealth and mhealth in medical care and research in Ghana

4. Definition
eHealth has an ambiguous definition but the concept is simply using technology to improve the quality of healthcare
WHO defines ehealth as the use of ICT for health e.g. treating patients, conducting research, educating the health workforce, tracking diseases and monitoring public health.

5. The 10 e’s of eHealth
The ‘e’ prefix does not only refer to electronic but
Efficiency
Enhancing quality
Evidenced based
Empowerment
Encouraging
Education
Enabling
Extending
Ethics
Equity

6. mHealth
This is a general term for the use of mobile phones and other wireless technology in medical care.
NIH consensus group defines mhealth as the use of mobile and wireless devices to improve health outcomes, healthcare services and health research
WHO defines it as an area of eHealth and it is the provision of health services and information via mobile technologies such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)

7. Overview

8. Overview Ehealth and mHealth has evolved over the past two decades
New technologies have been developed to help interface healthcare with the public
Ehealth does not only involve the use of the internet but computers interconnecting through a local area network (LAN)

9. Ehealth has revolutionized Health informatics
Health informatics focuses on developing tools to improve healthcare whiles eHealth is designed to make it easier to share this valuable information
WebMD, Medscape, Google Health are available ehealth tools
Software used in the heath care and research settings

10. Overview -mHealth New field in ehealth
According to International Communication Union, there are 5 billions mobile phone subscriptions in the world
85% of the world’s population has been covered by commercial wireless signal
Mobile phone penetrance in developing countries is over 90%
Most developing countries have at least one mHealth application

11. mHealth
mHealth involves the use and capitalization on a mobile phone’s core utility of voice and short messaging service (SMS) as well as more complex functionalities and applications including general packet radio service (GPRS), third and fourth generation mobile telecommunications (3G and 4G systems), global positioning system (GPS), and Bluetooth technology.

12. mHealth Top six areas of mHealth applications are :
Health care call lines/ call centres
Emergency toll free telephone services
Emergencies
Mobile telemedicine
Least frequently used tools ( less developed world)
Health surveys
Surveillance
Awareness raising
Decision support systems

13. Where are we in Ghana?

14. …….Ghana
Over the past two decades, proliferation of telecommunications has brought with it increased innovations that has caught up with health
Ehealth tools are available in Ghana
EHRs are available but nothing at the national level
EHRs are used to help with billing and NHIS claims

16. mHealth in Ghana GMA and Swtichboard in 2008 developed the MDNet.
First in Africa
Purpose to enable exchange of information among doctors
Are you still on it?

17. Clinical and biomedical research
Clinical research has shown the way in the use of ehealth and mhealth tools
PDAs, OpenMRS, mobile phones for GPS mapping, wearable devices, mobile phones

18. KATH ED
Since 2012, we have been taking steps to improve data collections,
Clinical care through robust medical information
Research

19. Electronic medical records

20. mHealth in the ED
Tackling overcrowding

21. KATH ED Using mobile health to improve consulting team contacts
Referral from hospitals. Vital signs
Interconnect with National Ambulance Service
Interventional studies for trauma victims, alcohol and drug abusers, stroke victims,
Interface the ED with the public

22. Is it that Easy No Complex Costly BBTs don’t want new tricks
Power issues in GH

23. The future Interoperability
This is used to describe the capability of IT systems and software to communicate, exchange data and allow for a more thorough use and evaluation of medical information
This will call into question national standards
Ethical Issues
Healthcare data security