Cell Phones Saving Lives in Tanzania

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) has introduced telemedicine- a distant diagnosis platform in which health workers use cell phone technology to carry out distance diagnosis through a web-based programme.

Cell phone diagnosis-which was initially applied in the field of dermatology (skin disorders) -has apparently come to the rescue of many patients in rural Tanzania- who could not be diagnosed due to lack of expertise necessitated by poor logistics and infrastructures.

Through telemedicine- clinical officers could use of their cell phones  to capture images  and record information of complex medical  conditions  and share it with specialists wherever they are  around the globe using   a secured database called iPath platform.

The project’s resource person Kizito Mrema says the goal is to have an online consultation network operating between 43 health facilities in the country, where about one hundred consultations  are taking place  weekly of which 20% are second opinion.