Breaking Barriers to Healthcare with ICT

Breaking Barriers to Healthcare with ICT Abu Ayub Ansari Introduction Health is the fundamental right of every citizen of a country. ICT is an important facility to access to healthcare service in both urban and rural areas. ICT may defined as technological system of communication, dissemination, storage, formation and management of information (1). Use of ICT in developing countries like Bangladesh is increasing day by day. ICT basically based on computers, internet system, telecommunication and highly modified technology. ICT health service also known as Electronic health, which is consist of m health, telemedicine, telepaths and help to breaking the access barrier by education, communication, helpline, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, tracking etc (2). Developing country like Bangladesh, MDG works to achieve Universal Health Coverage. Three MDG goals (goal-4, goal-5 and goal-6) basically take attention to health. Based on performance of ICT, developmental organization like- OECD, SIDA and DFID agreed that ICD initiates great policies in health programme to achieving MDG (3). Greater coverage of healthcare and easily accessibility now a days ICT is the most advanced technology. For taking history of patients faster, minimize adverse action of drug and for expert opinion now a days M-health is one of the popular healthcare services. Study objective How ICD breaking the access barrier of healthcare service. Methodology 1. A search for published literature in the last 10 years for any intervention dealing with ICT in a health service, where relationship with ICT and health , was conducted by electronic databases Pub Med and Global Health, as well as Google scholar for literature from the internet. 2. A scientific study was performed of published and grey literature. Literature was searched through the databases of PubMed, Medline and other journals, over the period 2005–2015. Relevant web sites were also consulted, such as those of Local government, Bilateral organization and NGO involved in research or interventions in performance. 3. Analysis of some YouTube video about ICT, e-Health, m-Health related with health service. 4. Total 14 article work were gathered and reviewed and only 10 articles and 1 YouTube video were cited in this scientific writing. Finding and Discussion Rural residency is a barrier that hampered to access health service. ICT developed a very good network for rural communities. Such as Grammen Telecom provide collaboration with health specialist of Diabetic Association Bangladesh to provide health service. So now it is easy to take expert opinion for treatment (4). Despite of rural residency people easily access health service without interruption. So in community level people easily can receive intervention without going to the urban area with the help of ICT. High treatment cost is great burden in LMICs like Bangladesh. Many poor people cannot properly access health service high cost of treatment .In Bangladesh, 6 mobile operators make agreements to TRCL to provide healthcare service. Everyday more than 10 thousand call received by doctors of mobile company and give conservative treatment which is easy and cheap to access (5). So for conservative treatment, ICT make the basic treatment so cheap, so people of LMICs easily access the healthcare service according to their need. For language barrier people from rural communities faces some difficulties to receive treatment. They not properly express themselves to the service provider and service provider are unable to understand to them treatment regimen. Telemedine not provide only treatment also refer to tertiary centre or specialized care during emergency by using local language (6). So using local language patients also share their problem and received treatment. In rural communities for family binding and social tiers women not properly access health services during ante natal period by visit the physician. MAMA APONJON is a mobile massage service to give ante natal advice by dialling 16227. After delivery mother were also dont take proper care to his children due to illiteracy. this service also give information about breast feeding, weaning and immunization (7). So without go outside a mother can receive all necessary information during and after pregnancy easy and continent way. E-Health basically monitors epidemic and outbreak reach by a expert monitoring network. Monitoring team always monitor the geo- spatial area and connected with the surveillance centre. So people will early aware about epidemic and take precaution and appropriate management (8). So access to E- health many lives saves from epidemic outbreak of disease. Both rural and urban area privacy problem is one of the barriers to access health service. E- health maintains a to properly maintain privacy of the patient and ownership will not addressed (9). In religious country like Bangladesh, females can easily access health service by maintaining privacy. Parents were not always aware about child immunization and sometimes forget. ICT provide effective immunization system and reminds parents time to time for immunization (10). Illiterate parents can also access immunization for their children. Conclusion- Healthcare service of developing country improved day by day. After this development people were not properly access health service due to some social and environmental factor. ICT advances system of health service delivery so people can access health service by breaking the barrier. ICT maintain communication with rural communities and provide health information. Cost and process of service delivery is very cheap and convenient so people easily can access the health service. It has also provide emergency treatment by refer to tertiary centre and maintain privacy every sector for easy accessibility. ICT also monitor epidemic area and alert people during outbreak, so people can take appropriate action to save lives and live hood. Recommendation- Effective introduction and implementation of ICT in rural community especially women so they can easily access this service. Give more resource to ICT as well as strengthen of ICT system. Give more training and professional education to ICT monitoring team. Active engagement of student in primary level of education. Proper maintains of accountability and responsiveness of service provider of ICT. In Bangladesh 75% of people live in rural area and but only 25% doctor provide service in this area, which is also not properly cover entire community(11). So, Government, bilateral organization, NGO should work together to better monitoring, implementation and strengthen of ICT system and correlate with health system according to priority of people , so people easily can access the health service any time, every palace without financial hardship. References 1. Ashraf M, Ansari NL. Evaluating the impact of mobile phone based â€Å" health help line † service in rural Bangladesh. :1–13. 2. Chowdhury MMH. e-Health in Bangladeshà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: Current Status , Challenges , and Future Direction. 2014;4(2):87–96. 3. Secretary SA. Role of ICTs in the Health Sector in Developing Countriesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: A Critical Review of Literature. 2011;197–208. 4. Nessa A, Ameen MA, Ullah S, Kwak KS. Applicability of Telemedicine in Bangladeshà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯: Current Status and Future Prospects. 2008;948–53. 5. Jahan S, Chowdhury MMH. 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