A short overview of some of the e-Health research projects by Prof Darelle van Greunen at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa.

1. e-Health
A long and healthy life for all South Africans
Prof
Darelle
van
Greunen
School
of
ICT
EBEIT
29
May
2013

2. What
is
e-­‐Health?
“the
cost-­‐effec(ve
and
secure
use
of
informa=on
and
communica=ons
technologies
in
support
of
health
and
health-­‐related
fields,
including
healthcare
services,
health
surveillance,
health
literature,
and
health
educa=on,
knowledge
and
research”
[World
Health
Organisa=on,
2005]

3. e-­‐Health
Strategy
of
South
Africa
• Adopted
by
Na=onal
Dept
of
Health:
2012
– A
long
and
healthy
life
for
all
South
Africans
• 10
Priori=es
– Priority
7:
Capacity
building
and
workforce
– Priority
9:
Applica=ons
and
tools
to
support
healthcare
delivery
– Priority
10:
Monitoring
and
evalua=on
of
the
e-­‐
Health
Strategy
• Globally,
Informa=on
and
Communica=on
Technology
(ICT)
has
emerged
as
a
cri=cal
enabling
mechanism
to
achieve
these.

4. e-­‐Health
at
NMMU
-­‐
the
present
• Living
Labs
– HIV
and
Aids
– TB
– Diabetes
– Nutri=on
– Child
health
• Loca=ons
– Motherwell
– Gelvandale
– Chris
Hani
district
(Cofimvaba)

5. A
glimpse
of
the
Projects
• Mobile
health
applica=on
to
support
home
base
carers
– Pa=ent
and
household
management
and
monitoring
• e-­‐Impilo
– Mobile
applica=ons
to
improve
access
to
school
healthcare
and
health
educa=on
based
on
the
needs
of
the
schools

6. e-­‐Health
at
NMMU
-­‐
the
future
• Web
portals
– HIV
and
Aids
Educa=on
– TB
Educa=on
– Diabetes
Educa=on
– Nutri=on
Educa=on
• Medica=on
adherence
via
mobile
applica=ons
and
medical
devices
[chronic
diseases]
• Health
Informa=cs
– Electronic
Pa=ent
Records
– Electronic
Health
Records
– Standards
and
data
interoperability

7. Relevant
Research
Areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The
impact
of
e-­‐Health
interven=ons
on
the
burden
of
disease
e-­‐Health
interven=ons
and
health
outcomes
E-­‐Health
economics
Factors
that
influence
successful
e-­‐Health
implementa=on
Interoperability
and
integrated
care
The
challenges
of
security
and
confiden=ality
e-­‐Health:
pa=ent
behaviour
and
the
pa=ent-­‐clinician
rela=onship
Innova=ve
solu=ons
for
low
resource
se^ngs
e-­‐Health
media
(e.g.
mobile
phones,
web
communi=es,
social
media)
ICT
for
healthcare
service
delivery
Distant
health
service
delivery
Safety
implica=ons
of
using
e-­‐Health

8. In
Summary
E-­‐Health
will
support:
• The
successful
implementa=on
of
a
NHI
in
South
Africa;
• The
reduc=on
of
burden
of
disease;
• Improved
healthcare
service
delivery;
• Health
system
strengthening;
• Capacity
building;
• Innova=on.