%0 Journal Article
%T Telemedicine in Primary Health: The Virtual Doctor Project Zambia
%A Evans N Mupela
%A Paul Mustarde
%A Huw LC Jones
%J Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1747-5341-6-9
%X This overview of the Virtual Doctor Project in Zambia provides insight into both the potential for ICT, and the problems and limitations that any "real-world" articulation of this technology must confront.The rapid spread of the use of computers and communication technologiesi, now commonly referred to as Information and Communication Technologies [ICT], in the last two decades has led to a plethora of ideas of applications for the benefit of poor people in remote areas of poor nations. One of the most important questions on the use of ICT has been the impact that these technologies can have on health service delivery to hard-to-reach areas in developing countries. This is because the central advantage and power of ICT is the inherent ability to deliver diverse information across large geographical spaces in relatively short time periods. Health practitioners in developing countries have seen this possibility and come up with useful ways of tapping the power of ICT to reduce morbidity and mortality rates in rural areas of poor developing countries. There is now a large stock of literature and project examples [both rural and urban], which demonstrate how this concept, commonly referred to as telemedicine, has been implemented for the benefit of poor populations in developing countries [1-4].What we present is yet another use of ICT, in the telemedicine gamma of applications, aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality in the remote villages of Lundazi in the Eastern province of The Republic of Zambia.Like most developing countries Zambia is characterized by an urban and rural demographic structure. The urban areas are relatively economically vibrant areas with access to basic infrastructure like telephones, electricity, treated water etc. The question in these areas is not the availability of basic infrastructure but rather the quality of service provided and the number of people able to make meaningful economic use of the infrastructure. The rural areas are more affl
%U http://www.peh-med.com/content/6/1/9