Implementation of Telemedicine Services in Lower-Middle Income Countries: Lessons for the Philippines

  • Romeo Luis Apolinario Macabasag University of the Philippines Manila
  • Kristine Mae Pinongcos Magtubo University of the Philippines Manila
  • Portia Grace Fernandez Marcelo University of the Philippines Manila
Keywords: Telemedicine, telehealth, eHealth, implementation, lessons, developing countries, Philippines

Abstract

Regardless of the promising potential of telemedicine to address healthcare problems, especially in lower-middle income countries, its success rate has been unsatisfactory and many telemedicine services fail to sustain their implementation shortly after initial funding or after a pilot phase. Therefore, it is important to document existing models of telemedicine implementation in these countries, to identify commonalities and extract experiences that would be useful for implementers, policy makers and future researchers. This review seeks to review and describe the experience of Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) in implementing telemedicine services. Evidence extracted from the included studies were analysed through a narrative synthesis which suggests a multi-sectoral approach for implementing telemedicine. It highlights the importance of education, financing options, policy, technology, governance, and partnership, in the wider picture of a sustainable telemedicine implementation among developing countries such as the Philippines. Moreover, the literature reveals both top-down and bottom-up approach for successful telemedicine implementation. These approaches include strengthening the local health workers and integrating telemedicine into the health system. Studies included in this review have been helpful, but there is an obvious lack of studies with high level of evidence that can yield generalisable, thus findings must be inferred with prudence. Even so, this review described and summarised the data which allowed description of factors and lessons in the implementation of telemedicine in LMICs.


Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Romeo Luis Apolinario Macabasag, University of the Philippines Manila

Research Associate - National Telehealth Center, National Institutes of Health

University of the Philippines Manila

Kristine Mae Pinongcos Magtubo, University of the Philippines Manila

University Researcher - National Telehealth Center, National Institutes of Health

University of the Philippines Manila

Portia Grace Fernandez Marcelo, University of the Philippines Manila

Director - National Telehealth Center, National Institutes of Health, University of the Philippines Manila

Associate Professor - Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila

Published
2016-11-24
How to Cite
Macabasag, R. L., Magtubo, K. M., & Marcelo, P. G. (2016). Implementation of Telemedicine Services in Lower-Middle Income Countries: Lessons for the Philippines. Journal of the International Society for Telemedicine and EHealth, 4, e24 (1-11). Retrieved from https://journals.ukzn.ac.za/index.php/JISfTeH/article/view/168
Section
Special Theme: Telehealth in the Philippines