Abstract
The ubiquity of mobile phones offers an opportunity for a paradigm change in health-care delivery, which may offer solutions to some of the challenges faced by the health sector in Uganda. The Medical Concierge Group (TMCG) is a digital health company, headquartered in Uganda, which leverages on mobile phone-based platforms – such as short messaging service (SMS), voice calling – and social media to deliver health services. Just over two-thirds (68%) of users of TMCG’s services are males between 18 and 30 years of age. SMS reminders have improved the honouring of health facility appointments among HIV-positive clients, from 60% to 90%; retention rates at supported health facilities have improved from 45% to 89%. Furthermore, information dissemination has been achieved via mobile SMS, wherein subscribers can access health content on diverse topics – such as HIV/AIDS prevention and family planning – by sending messages to a pre-defined short code to a phone line. Over 900 beneficiaries have accessed health content via SMS subscriptions. Social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, are used for health information dissemination and have enabled a wider reach to over 13 million beneficiaries accessing health information on TMCG’s Facebook page alone. Tailoring mobile phone-based health content to meet the target beneficiaries’ needs is critical for TMCG’s impact and uptake. With rising rates of phone ownership and Internet connectivity in Uganda, mobile phones offer an affordable and proven adoptable avenue to overcome the chronic challenges faced by the health sector.
Highlights
To date, mobile health does not have a standard definition
The Medical Concierge Group (TMCG) was chosen for this case study, which was conducted from October 2016 to October 2017 because it has operated a functional mobile health (mHealth) platform for the past 7 years and, provides an appropriate example of the landscape of mHealth implementation in Uganda
Mobile phone-based health innovations provide an affordable and flexible way to overcome the chronic challenges to health-care delivery in Uganda, including the low doctor-to-patient ratio, long waiting times at health facility, and poor or non-existent patient follow-up systems. Such mHealth services allow for large numbers of beneficiaries to be served at minimal expenditure of time and resources relative to traditional models of health-care delivery, which require physical interactions in most circumstances
Summary
Mobile health (mHealth) does not have a standard definition. Mobile technologies have great potential to overcome challenges in health-care delivery, as they provide cost-effective means of accessing quality health-care services.[4] Such technologies provide an avenue for addressing some of the challenges that are of particular concern for health systems in developing countries, including low health worker-to-patient ratios, accessibility and transport to health facilities, poor health information systems, long waiting times at health facilities, and the poor or non-existent patient follow-up systems.[5]. This article discusses health-care delivery through mobile technologies, as implemented by The Medical Concierge Group (TMCG), a digital health company in Uganda
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