Mobile health apps are on the rise in Africa which brings hope for the continent in its strive towards fairer and better quality healthcare.
Mobile health innovations are part of the giant leap in mobile health technology. According to a 2017 report by science and health data company IQVIA, Over 318,000 health apps are now available globally.
Mobile apps varied from general tips for wellness to telemedicine for booking and payments. Health management apps allow people to monitor their health conditions, track their medications, and enable health practitioners to consult and share health records remotely.
Observers state that health apps proliferation and increase in mobile connectivity are signs of a coming boom in the e-health industry in Africa.
What Are Mobile Health Solutions?
Physicians and patients can make use of a variety of mobile health solutions to enhance their quality of care and access important wellness resources. Common mobile health solutions include:
Online or Remote Consultations
Instead of scheduling face-to-face appointments and waste time and money going to the office of a doctor, patients can conduct virtual visits. They can make use of video conferencing software platforms, digital tools provided by their hospital or third-party apps, or doctor’s office
Electronic Health Records
Electronic health records (EHRs) can help healthcare providers and patients easily access, transfer and update information. EHRs can help in determining the best treatment for patients, identify potential risks among similar groups and recommend preventive measures for certain populations.
Mobile Data Tracking
Patients can make use of health and fitness apps to track their personal health data, such as body temperature, and insulin levels. Health care providers can access the data to make quick diagnoses, identify life-threatening changes in vital statistics, and analyze sudden symptoms.
Medical devices connected to the internet can also collect data and transmit it to other devices, EHRs, and healthcare providers. Examples of these devices include ingestible sensors, insulin pumps, and heart monitors.
Wearable Devices
Wearable medical devices such as smartwatches are becoming prominent. The iTBra for example can detect cancer in breast tissue, and Apple Watch can track atrial fibrillations based on heartbeat data.
Some innovative mobile health apps in Africa
Innovative e-health initiatives have swept the African continent.
Hello Doctor, a South African app that allows people to talk to doctors through their mobile phones.
M-Tiba, a Kenyan app allows users to pay for healthcare treatment remotely and transmit data anonymously so health authorities can spot trends and prepare for possible outbreaks.
To combat the manufacture of fake drugs in Nigeria, a group of teens invented FD-Detector that analyzes the barcode of drugs to verify their expiry date and authenticity.
In Uganda, health workers use mTrac to submit health surveillance data weekly using SMS to the health management information system of the country. They track everything from disease symptoms to medicine stocks, and neonatal or maternal deaths, the system then submits data automatically for analysis. An SMS alert is sent out whenever disease symptoms or health problems reach a specific level or the number of severity.
Dokita Eyes’ enables health professionals to keep an eye on their patients all the time, wherever they are.
Airtel Nigeria and AXA Mansard partners to launch a health insurance scheme that allows Nigerians access affordable health insurance plans by dialing the short code *987*7#. Users can have access to more than 1,000 hospitals nationwide to have access to quality health care services.
Clafiya, a digital platform that links patients in rural and semi-urban areas to Community Health Workers (CHWs). It provides basic health services to people from the comfort of their homes.
