The projects uses Telemedicine technology to deliver healthcare at a distances from the tertiary and secondary health facilities to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.
Innovation Summary
Innovation Overview
We identified the problem of the high mortality rate in Nigeria, coupled with the logistical issue of the large size of our country (twice the size of California.) Through engaging stakeholders and health workforce in the Northeast, we developed a plan to have an integrated telemedicine / electronic healthcare records (EHR) system development of telemedicine / EHR software application installation of the application in a central web server with appropriate securities.
We mapped out all the participating health facilities into the telemedicine system. We trained end-users including health workers and public health officers, and created a Northeast Telemedicine Center to function from the hosted server.
The project benefits stakeholders in the Northeast and Nigeria, including rapid improvement of the quality and availability of health care services at local level across the region, improvement of medical practice standards and procedures, diffusion of medical capacity/expertise/technology, and an increase in life expectancy and health coverage across the region.
Through our efforts, we hope to achieve components of the National Health ICT Strategic Framework of increased public awareness on potentials of telemedicine in health Better health research possibilities in Nigeria.
Innovation Description
What Makes Your Project Innovative?
Our innovation uses computer/cloud system to deliver healthcare services in rural, hard-to-access regions of Nigeria as a means to produce better health outcomes.
What is the current status of your innovation?
The course of action was determined through our staff doctor conducting numerous interviews with different stakeholders. The methods and tools used to implement the project are ICT, telemedicine, and eHealth.
Innovation Development
Collaborations & Partnerships
Our collaborators were the local government and numerous NGOs.
Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries
The telemedicine project beneficiaries are: patients, citizens, improved health outcomes for health care provider, more efficient and effective delivery of health services, and for the government, more efficient health care provision and more effective government.
Innovation Reflections
Results, Outcomes & Impacts
We have succeeded in giving medical access to about 100,000 people in rural areas. Our goal is to expand this so, as to give medical access to everyone living in rural areas in Nigeria.
Challenges and Failures
Our primary challenge has been financial. This remains an outstanding problem as we strive to grow and scale our project.
Conditions for Success
In order to achieve our innovation, we observed the need for supporting infrastructure and services, policy and rules, leadership and guidance, human and financial resources, and personal values and motivation.
Replication
This is a replicable solution because of the electronic and mobile nature of the innovation. We believe it can easily be adopted by others.
Status:
- Developing Proposals - turning ideas into business cases that can be assessed and acted on
Innovation provided by:
Date Published:
25 February 2015