Gerry Douglas - Malawi’s $1 Million eHealth Miracle
Article on Gerry Douglas, Malawi’s $1 Million eHealth Miracle. It points out that while Ontario was spending $1 billion on eHealth with “almost zip” results, dirt-poor Malawi has the records of 1.1 million patients accessible in 10 locations throughout the country, thanks to a computer network put together by a non-profit created by a Canadian aid worker and his wife for a total cost of $1 million from their office above a 7/11. He bought obsolete computers from eBay, converted them to touch screens, and developed the patient registration app, which uses “health passports” that cut the hours-long lines. “It’s hot, dusty and hydro is intermittent. Health clinics are in the open air with no doors. We needed a computer system that would work in those conditions and be used by people who don’t have computer skills. The system works on the premise that if you can work a mobile phone, you can use a touch-screen computer.”