Assessment of Ethiopian Health Facilities Readiness for Implementation of Telemedicine

Assessing core, e-learning, clinical and technology readiness to integrate telemedicine at public health facilities in Uganda: a health facility – based survey

“…Whilst every country is different, with different health systems, burdens of disease, health needs, infrastructure and political agendas, the key findings of such studies are quite similar. For example, in Palestine mHealth approaches were regarded a promising strategy for mental health treatment interventions [21] while an assessment of telemedicine readiness at public health facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, showed a degree of readiness for telemedicine rating varied from a weak rating for technology readiness to strong rating for Organizational readiness [22].…”

Barriers to Sustainable Telemedicine Implementation in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review

“…According to this review, the most frequently reported barriers to the implementation of telemedicine services are cost 17,18,20,21,16,22,[23][24][25] and infrastructure. 13,17,18,21,22,24,26 The initial cost of establishing telemedicine services is very high, and to function telemedicine services in rural or remote areas for underserved communities needs telecommunication expenses, training (health personnel and 20 2013 Cross-sectional Cost, technical support, internet connection Mengesha et al 27 2013 Case study An internet connection and technical support system Abera et al 21 2014 Mixed method Cost, availability of technical support, Internet connection, ICT infrastructure, technological infrastructure, readiness, staff turnover Medhanyie et al 13 2015 Cross-sectional Health system, resistance to change, ICT infrastructure, awareness, language, poor application design, and technically challenged staff.…”

“…According to this review, the most frequently reported barriers to the implementation of telemedicine services are cost 17,18,20,21,16,22,[23][24][25] and infrastructure. 13,17,18,21,22,24,26 The initial cost of establishing telemedicine services is very high, and to function telemedicine services in rural or remote areas for underserved communities needs telecommunication expenses, training (health personnel and 20 2013 Cross-sectional Cost, technical support, internet connection Mengesha et al 27 2013 Case study An internet connection and technical support system Abera et al 21 2014 Mixed method Cost, availability of technical support, Internet connection, ICT infrastructure, technological infrastructure, readiness, staff turnover Medhanyie et al 13 2015 Cross-sectional Health system, resistance to change, ICT infrastructure, awareness, language, poor application design, and technically challenged staff. Xue et al 16 2015 Cross-sectional The technical support system, resistance to change, anxiety, costs Dusabe-Richards et al 19 2016 Mixed-method Network coverage, technical support system, language, phone (mobile), socioeconomic status Barkman and Weinehall 22 2017 Descriptive case report Reimbursement, infrastructures, cost Biruk and Abetu 32 2018 Cross-sectional awareness Steege et al 23 2018 Costs, level of education, culture, phone (mobile), awareness Shiferaw et al 24 2018 Cross-sectional Cost, health system, culture, staff turnover, ICT infrastructure, electricity, phone (mobile), service integration, internet, awareness Harding et al 25 2019 Descriptive case report Electricity, e-health literacy, health system, telecommunication service, cost, internet connection, phone (mobile), human resources Dessie Gashu et al 26 2020 RCT ICT infrastructure, e-health literacy, phone (smart mobile)…”

“…Fifteen years ago, in Ethiopia, all concerned bodies such as universities, telecommunication authority, the ministry of health, policy makers, and other responsible institutions agreed to support telemedicine implementation. 21 However, some services such as access to electricity power (only 8% of rural household have access in 2016), 12 e-health literacy, access to health information technologies (IT) to address gaps in IT literacy for health extension workers, 25 network coverage, and internet connectivity, 18,20,21,24,25,27 and HITs were still the main bottlenecks for the implementation of telemedicine services in Ethiopia. We recommend that the Ethiopian government focus on organizational barriers, especially infrastructure challenges such as unstable power supplies, poor communication networks, inadequate internet connectivity with limited bandwidth, lack of human resources with necessary technical expertise to successfully implement telemedicine, and ensure its sustainability.…”

“…Ethiopia is one of the African countries with a high turnover of personnel, particularly health workers, and the loss of skilled personnel can affect customization of service and implementation of technology. 21,24,31 Hence, the government and other responsible bodies should retain qualified personnel by providing advancement opportunities such as career advancement and incentives and encouraging other workplace motivations.…”