Abstract
This study assessed e-healthcare readiness of rural and urban hospitals in North West Province of South Africa. Outcome of assessment led to creation of e-health architectural framework for e-health solutions. Assessment was conducted in usage of ICT in patient healthcare record system, processes and procedures in consultation among healthcare professionals, prescription of medication, referral of patients and training of healthcare professionals in ICT usage. The study was in two phases and six hospitals were selected. E-healthcare readiness assessment focusing on need, technological, engagement and social acceptance readiness were assessed. Data collected used group interviews and qualitative questionnaires. Findings showed that computers were not used for clinical duties and no e-health solutions were found. E-health Maturity Level was at level zero. Recommendations and compilation of Provincial E-Health Framework (PEHF) were made. The findings were unexpected and therefore, of great benefit to healthcare institutions which intend to implement e-health initiatives in hospitals.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Botswana Government: Status of the National Response to the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. National Aids Coordinating Agency, Gaborone (2003)
Jennett, P., Jackson, A., Healy, T., et al.: A Study of a Rural Community’s Readiness for Telehealth. J. Telecare 9, 259–263 (2003)
Department of Health (DoH). Documents and Reports.: North West Department of Health, http://www.nwhealth.gov.za/nwhealth_web/doc_reports.php
Rasmeni, M.: Budget Speech for the Department of Health for the Financial Year 2007/2008. Presented by the MEC for Health, at the North West Provincial Legislature, http://www.nwhealth.gov.za/nwhealth_web/dir_prog.php
World Health Organization (WHO).: Developing Health Management Information Systems: A Practical Guide for Developing Countries, Geneva (2004)
Eysenbach, G.: What is e-Health? J. Med. Internet Research 3(2), 20 (2001)
Campbell, J.D., Harris, K.D., Hodge, R.: Introducing Telemedicine Technology to Rural Physicians and Settings. J. Fam. Pract. 50, 419–424 (2001)
Demiris, G., Oliver, D.R.P., Porock, D., Courtney, K.: Home Telehealth: The Missouri Telehospice Project: Background and Next Steps. Home Health Care Technology Report 1(49), 55–57 (2004)
Ojo, S.O., Olugbara, O.O., Emuoyibofarhe, O.J.: Formal Model for e-Healthcare Readiness Assessment in Developing Country Context. In: 4th International Conference on Innovations in Information Technology, IIT 2007 (2007)
Creswell, J.W.: Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design, 2nd edn. Choosing among Five Approaches. Sage Publications, London (2007)
Klein, H.K., Myers, M.D.: A Set of Principles for Conducting and Evaluating Interpretive Field Studies in Information Systems. Management Information Systems Quarterly 23(1), 67–94 (1999)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).: Development and Transfer of Technologies. In: Workshop on Enabling Environment for Technology Transfer, www.unfccc.int/resource/docs
Nkqubela, L.R., Herselman, M.E.: ICT Application as E-health Solutions in rural Healthcare in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Health Information Management J. 39(1) (2010)
Jarvis, B., Fortunov, I., Bachour, T.: Connect Health Framework Architecture and Design Blue Print, http://www.microsoft.com/health/ww/ict/Pages/Connected-Health-Framework.aspx
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 ICST Institute for Computer Science, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering
About this paper
Cite this paper
Coleman, A., Herselman, M.E., Potass, D. (2012). E-Health Readiness Assessment for E-Health Framework for Africa: A Case Study of Hospitals in South Africa. In: Kostkova, P., Szomszor, M., Fowler, D. (eds) Electronic Healthcare. eHealth 2011. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 91. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29262-0_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29262-0_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29261-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29262-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)