Futurechat

Further to my earlier post, Health on her fingertips, where I explored the need of Sumita, a poor young woman to find out more information on basic health care, I have built up my thoughts on the need for universal, transparent health information accessible by phone.

• A Central repository of health information + local health information is added in to make it more relevant
• People can access the information through a Call desk and through SMS
• A national health number is created that is manned by people who speak the local language. SMS menu is readily available that gives basic information (in language of choice to subscribers)

Public health services in India are woefully short of reaching the urban poor let alone the vast rural population. While institutional health frameworks for urban poor and rural poor exist, they could greatly be strengthened though this simple mechanism. …more

Private hospitals in India use mobile phones to interact with existing customers to communicate information about appointments, health screenings, health camps, vaccinations etc. However, this is largely an urban phenomenon. Access to health information in rural India is virtually non existent, while some companies are trying to penetrate this market, most activities are in a nascent stage. More on this in Health on her finger tips.

No one communicates with local communities on health issues. Both Government and Private Health services use mass media such as newspapers and television to communicate with the general public on health issues – Example – dos and donts of Swine Flu, Swine Flu testing centres, symptoms etc. Mobile phones are not really regarded as a way of mass communication. At times the National Disaster Management society has used mobile phones to communicate with local communities, but this too has been very limited. …more