Medical decision support systems in Africa
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To present an overview of the current state of computer-based medical decision support systems in Africa in the areas of public health, patient care, and consumer support. METHODS: Scientific and gray literature reviews complemented by expert interviews. RESULTS: Various domains of decision support are developed and deployed in Sub-Saharan Africa: public health information systems, clinical decision-support systems, and patient-centred decision-support systems. CONCLUSIONS: Until recently, most of these systems have been deployed by international organizations without a real ownership policy entrusted to the African stakeholders. Many of these endeavours have remained or ceased at the experimentation stage. The multiplicity of organizations has led to the deployment of fragmented systems causing serious interoperability problems. In addition to basic infrastructures, these studies also highlight the importance of good organization, training and support, as key to the success and sustainability of these decision support systems.
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After more than a decade of activities, the financial sustainability of RAFT still remains a major issue.
“After more than a decade of activities, the financial sustainability of the RAFT still remains a major issue (33).”
From The RAFT Telemedicine Network: Lessons Learnt and Perspectives from a Decade of Educational and Clinical Services in Low- and Middle-Incomes Countries (2014) · cites this paper as [33]
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- Authors
- Bagayoko, C. O., Geissbuhler, A., & Bediang, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Geneva (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Bediang, G.
- Venue
- Yearbook of Medical Informatics
- Publisher
- Georg Thieme Verlag KG
- Published
- 2010-08
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 01
- Pages
- 47-54
- ISSN
- 0943-4747 (ISSN-L)
- 2364-0502
- OpenAlex
- W2224854712
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2023: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 0.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Yearbook of Medical Informatics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Electronic Health Records Systems
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Technology and Human Factors in Education and Health
- Keywords
- clinical decision support systems, clinical decision support, public health information systems, sub-Saharan Africa, interoperability, stakeholder ownership, health information infrastructure, international organizations
- MeSH terms
- Diffusion of Innovation, Patient Care, Medical Records Systems, Computerized, Telemedicine, Africa South of the Sahara, Decision Support Systems, Clinical, Public Health Informatics, Resource Allocation, Consumer Health Information
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