SMS To Improve Indonesian Health Care

East Indonesian district health offices are turning to text messages to deliver patient care following training from a team at Charles Darwin University.

CDU’s Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods Research Fellow Rohan Fisher led a team that delivered training in West Timor, Sumba and Flores to 11 district health offices from the Nusa Tengga Timur province.

Mr Fisher said representatives were taught to use Frontline SMS software for health delivery and reporting to reach and monitor patients located in remote areas.

“Manual SMS health care delivery was already being used by district health offices, but it was underutilised and required around-the-clock monitoring,” Mr Fisher said.