[Re: Topic 5 in our current discussion: What strategies could be used to address the cost implications of informal mobile phone use for healthcare workers? https://www.hifa.org/news/mhealth-innovate-exploring-healthcare-workers-... ]
Dear Neil and HIFA colleagues
I’m finding the discussions on the use of mobile phones in health care settings in the HIFA global forum very interesting.
The research paper mentioned that healthcare workers including Ethiopia find costs of phones and airtime very challenging.
Some case studies years ago showed that some countries had partnership with telecom companies to provide ‘doctor to doctor’ free calls for consultation, referral, labs reports, follow-up treatment etc.
It will be interesting to know:
1. Is it common in your setting for healthcare workers to themselves cover the ‘airtime costs’ for using their personal mobile phone for work purposes?
2. Please share if you know of solutions to this problem in your setting? e.g. The hospital system/ health centres or the Government compensates for the cost of mobile phone and/or airtime.
Best wishes
meena
Dr Meena Nathan Cherian, MBBS, MD (Anaesthesia)
(Former WHO Lead Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Program, Geneva, Switzerland).
Director, Global Health New Challenges:online courses, Geneva Foundation for Medical Education & Research (GFMER), Switzerland. www.gfmer.ch/surgery/cancer.htm
Senior Advisor, Global Action, International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG), Switzerland. Permanent Committees - SIOG
Adjunct Prof.The Chinese University of Hong Kong,Shenzhen,China. https://med.cuhk.edu.cn/en/teacher/371
WHO-HIFA Working Group on Essential Health Services,COVID-19,Learning for Quality Health Services; mHEALTH-INNOVATE.www.hifa.org
Geneva, Switzerland. +41 763837253(m); cherianm15@gmail.com
HIFA profile: Dr Meena Nathan Cherian was a professor of anaesthesiology from Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, India. She trained, worked, and taught in several countries, USA (Johns Hopkins Hospital), Southeast Asia and Africa. She worked at the World Health Organization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, as the Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Program Lead where she created the ‘surgical care’ program resulting in the first World Health Assembly Resolution on ‘Emergency and Essential Surgical Care and Anaesthesia in the context of Universal Health Coverage’. Currently she works as the Director, Global Health New Challenges program, Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Geneva, Switzerland; Adjunct Prof. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China; Senior Advisor, Global Action, International Society of Geriatric Oncology, Switzerland; she is a member of the HIFA Steering Group; HIFA Partnerships and Projects Working Group; and HIFA mHEALTH-INNOVATE Working Group. cherianm15@gmail.com