TELEMEDICINE  in   ETHIOPIA

In many remote and rural areas of Ethiopia it is often impossible for sick or injured people to get to
a doctor or a paramedic, let alone a specialist. Now, however, the falling cost and increasing sophistication of communications and computer technology is bringing about the possibility of medical help and health care in remote and rural areas of Ethiopia.

With the cooperation of the people having opening  hearts for the application of new technology in the telemedicine project,  we have prepared special pilot telemedicine radiology project, in which the remote clinics of Ethiopia will be connected via Inmarsat with the central hospital in Addis Ababa for the transfer of X-rays images , laboratory information etc. The people in remote areas of Ethiopia need our help not only in time of the project, but all the time.  Many thanks for help to Elizabeth Bekele, Mr. David Wright, Mr. Leonid Androuchko, Mr. Floris Slikker and Mr.Milard Derbew (Dr.).

Inmarsat satellite communications are a cost-effective way of delivering health care to remote villages, settlements and camps, and to crew and passengers aboard ships and aircraft.  

                  Social and Economic Benefits of Telemedicine

Reduced Travel

Telemedicine enables doctors or paramedics to consult specialists quickly, without the cost and risk of transporting an ill or injured patient over long distances or rough terrain.

 

Improved Consultations

Telemedicine can provide access to specialists from anywhere in the world. It allows scarce resources of knowledge and equipment to be shared by a much greater number of patients. Doctors are no longer restricted by geographical boundaries: specialists can spread their skills across continents, without leaving their own hospitals, saving time and money.

 

Universal Service

People denied medical care by virtue of their geographical isolation can begin to benefit from telemedicine as long as they have access to a satellite telephone. In the future, increasing numbers of people, especially patients in small clinics lacking the facilities of major hospitals, will be diagnosed and treated via telemedicine.

 

Cost Savings

Telemedicine costs are falling. Countries with high health care expenditures are interested in telemedicine as a way of reducing both operating costs and demands upon hospitals. In almost every country, more than half the cost of running hospitals goes on what are essentially 'hotel' services. The more health care can be decentralised and administered efficiently in low-cost settings such as clinics, the less dependent patients will be on expensive sites such as hospitals.

 

Training and Education

Telemedicine can be an important source of case study material. Students in one place can watch an operation being performed by a surgeon thousands of kilometres away. Operations can be recorded and played back for detailed examinationand, if telemedicine continues to grow, specialists will be able to track an increase in the incidence of a disease almost as it happens.

 

Reduced Waiting-lists

Telemedicine can help reduce hospital waiting lists if patients can be 'seen' immediately via telecommunications systems.

 

Revenues for Telemedicine Providers

Telemedicine is a high-tech industry, comprising equipment manufacturers and service providers, who can generate revenues from their products and services. Similarly, medical institutions, specialists and hospitals may be able to deliver services to a far wider group of people than ever before, leading to economies of scale.

 If you have any question, please contact us : Mr. Jaroslav Liska, Bilton  +420-602 310064, +420-2-4015008