Shift from Communicable to Chronic Disease
Over the next 10 years the cost of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke will take a tremendous toll on the national incomes of developing world countries.
Mobile based Healthcare can be further enhanced to address these challenges using tools currently available. For example, just as SMS alerts are useful in raising public health awareness of communicable diseases, these same types of alerts can be used to ensure patient adherence with treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes. SMS alerts can be sent out to address chronic diseases and mental health issues in urban areas such as smoking cessation and nutrition reminders.
Enhancing Mobile based Healthcare
Addressing future health needs will be facilitated by the development of mobile technologies and network expansion. The key technology trends in mobile technology continue to be the same trends that have characterized technological progress for the past 40 years: miniaturization, greater speed, and cost reduction. These advances are reflected in mobile telephony by some of the advancement issues shown in Table above.
Noteworthy Points:
Greater range of services becomes possible with more uniform, faster, and more affordable broadband access;
greater access and coverage expands the ‘subscriber’ base, building volume, creating incentives for players, and helping push sustainable mHealth applications beyond simple one-way data services.
Health experts note that within the next 15 years, policymakers and health providers
in the developing world will be forced to turn their focus to prevention and early detection rather than late-stage treatment of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, as well as to the health needs of an aging population.These changes are being caused by trends such as migration from rural to urban areas, economic growth, and changing dietary habits.
As developing countries like India, tackle and make significant improvements in the spread of communicable disease, average income levels increase along with average life expectancy. Even a slight increase in income contributes to changing dietary habits and Lifestyles.
Late detection of these diseases leads to lower survival rates and reduced life expectancy, and has negative consequences for social and economic development. Developing countries are therefore being confronted with a double burden of treating and containing the spread of communicable diseases while combating a wide range of unfamiliar health challenges.
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