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What is holding Africa healthcare back?

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January 10, 2014 , ,
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The cost of travelling   abroad can help developed an already existing medical centre in a village or town.  In addition, the medical personnel being abandoned in Africa to go to India or Europe are sometimes more qualified than the ones who are going to diagnose or treat them when they go abroad for treatment.  These are some of the congenial issues posting dark cloud on Africa healthcare landscape.    However, the main issue would be the inaptitude of the medical professionals to development of their profession. They are waiting for governments to create a sort of Eldorado and present it to them   to excel.
Lack of basic technology to practice, develop or enhance patient care delivery is no longer the issue in Africa healthcare.  The main issue is the lack of will to use these technologies. Most doctors in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya etc, either  owns or can afford a  laptop, smartphone, or a tablet. What is required is  the joint effort of a few to agree for a specific need to meet and work towards  achieving  it. As easy as this may sound it could be a herculean task   where in-fighting are norm in most medical associations. Instead of look at how there profession could be harnessed with  numerous  opportunities  which technology  has provided they are more focussed  at  opening their medical practices   with backward and cumbersome practices  to make  patient care more complicated to exhort money from    patients by creating erroneous  care pathway.  For example, it  cost money to  register as patient, it cost money to get appointment card,  it cost money to get  patient  record file, it cost money to  get prescription etc.
Another issue in Africa healthcare is the government, but this does not seem to be the biggest issue.  In most developed countries, medical professionals or healthcare practitioners come up with the ideas and concepts. Then, government   are engaged to provide regulations to ensure that patient can access save and regulated healthcare.  African governments are used to the idea that healthcare practitioners   will always to take whatever they are given.  As long as their salaries are not touched or forbid them to open more and more sub-standard medical practices, knowing fully well they lead the innovation and no one else does.
Healthcare professionals in Africa must start taking imitative to meet their own needs.    Now, there are many mobile applications can make medical diagnoses easier or support decision-making processes.  iPad and tablets used for You-tube could be deployed in  capturing  data that could be used in  patient consultations. Smartphones can be used to share images for peer review. Precisely, there should be fewer excuses for healthcare in Africa to remain the way it was.

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