Can a phone replace a doctor?

With only 1 doctor per each 10,000 people in Kenya, technology is seen as the easier and best way to aid those who on occasion need medical attention, whether that is a pregnant woman or someone who cannot reach a medical facility. With new apps such as MedAfrica and BabyMonitor casualties and complications can be reduced to everyone, even those in remote locations.

Social Impacts

The IT idea behind it is that an automated survey with medical questions is recorded on a phone number which people would consequently call when medical attention is required, the answers to the survey would be analysed by experts and subsequent instructions would be text back to the patient, including what medicine they should take. The shareholders in this situation are the patients in need of medical attention, the doctors and the developers of aiding apps. The advantage is obvious, more people can have help from medical staff quicker and without having to travel long distances to receive it, on the other hand symptoms can often be misleading perhaps ending in a mistreat of the patients disease as it is thought of as something else. Everyday more people possess a mobile phone and with such services attached to it we can start using and benefiting from phones in different ways, mobile communications are reliable and fast meaning that very rarely will communication between patient and doctor be at risk of stopping. Additionally to overcome any doubts that everyone has access to this new technology a standard mobile phone could be distributed around dispersed villages in order to assure and guarantee that every person has possible access to this service at any time.

Ethical Issues

Those responsible in this article are the mobile phone companies as they have the continuous job of assuring mobile communications across the country and the UN for trying to aid in the development of new technologies to combat the shortage of medical staff. Those accountable for its use are the medical staff using the survey to determine the patients disease, this is crucial and therefore extremely important to be carried out properly. This can be applied to digital divide, the fact that technology could be used in poorer countries to save life highlights the fact that distribution of new technologies should be a benefit to everyone as in more than one way can the devices help our day to day life and more. Lastly the only possible ethical decision in this case would be the of education and training of more medical staff, although it would be great this seems unlikely to happen as in less developed countries people often start working instead of continuing to study stopping their education before the necessary standards required for a doctor and as a result the shortage of medical staff across the country will continue to exist.

Link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9759415.stm