The Journal of mHealth Vol 2 Issue 4 (August) | Page 38

mHealth in Developing Countries
Continued from page 35

Are there any risks that we should
consider with this type of approach?
“We can’t lose sight of the importance
of our healthcare professionals in the
delivery of health diagnoses and services.
Too often, software is divorced from
workflow; interfaces are disconnected
from the realities of how professionals
need to interact with them; and analytics
provide too much of the unnecessary or
the just plain wrong. Healthcare professionals and administrators will be much

better at their jobs if they have access to
the complete range of data they need.
And they’ll only be able to leverage that
data if we can deliver it in ways that’s
accessible and accurate and actionable.
Too many software vendors are failing to
understand this critical imperative.”
What are the principle steps that
the industry needs to take in order
to facilitate the transition to datadriven healthcare delivery?
“For us, it comes down to three key mea-

sures: are we delivering data that is accessible, even at the point of care; is that
data accurate; and is that data actionable? I’m always asking how we’re doing
on our ‘Three As’: accessible, accurate,
actionable. Anyone working in healthcare big data and analytics should be
concerned with this question. An obsessive focus on the ‘Three As’ will have
a transformative effect on healthcare
delivery and administration, which will
lead to lower costs, optimised revenues,
and, most importantly, improved health
outcomes for all people.” n

mHealth in Developing Countries:
A Model for the Improvement of
Global Health and for Reverse
Innovation in the U.S.
By Steven W. Stavrou

Introduction

Abstract

In 2009, The World Health Organization published a report
titled The Financial Crisis and Global Health, which brought
light to global health issues that were expected to arise from
the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Among the principle
concerns highlighted in this report, the risk of health services
and health outcomes in both developed and, as a result, developing nations was the most imperative. The WHO argued that
whether from high- or low-income countries, it is the poor that
will be hit hardest. In the WHO’s five-point framework for
action against this global crisis, pro-health public spending that
is “pro-poor” was identified as an imperative investment that
should yield positive health outcomes. Additionally, global collaboration between and within countries, as well as a focus on
resear