Open AccessSetting Up Telemedicine: Internet of Things to Support Rural Oncology Clinics in a Low- and Middle-Income Country—A Pilot Project in Kenya
Author(s) -
Lamech Sigu,
Fredrick Chite,
Emma Achieng,
Andrew Koech
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
jco global oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2687-8941
DOI - 10.1200/go.20.54000
Subject(s) - telemedicine , kenya , medicine , the internet , session (web analytics) , family medicine , medical emergency , health care , medical education , world wide web , computer science , political science , law
PURPOSE The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology that involves all things connected to the Internet that share data over a network without requiring human-to-human interaction or human-to-computer interaction. Information collected from IoT devices can help physicians identify the best treatment process for patients and reach accurate and expected outcomes.METHODS The International Cancer Institute is partnering to set up remote oncology clinics in sub-Saharan Africa. Medical oncologists and expert teams from across the world connect with oncology clinics in other Kenyan counties—Kisumu, Meru, Makueni, Garissa, Kakamega, Bungoma, Siaya, and Vihiga counties. The furthest county is Garissa, approximately 651.1 km from Eldoret, and the nearest is Vihiga at 100.4 km from Eldoret. This study began July 2019, and as of November 30th, the team has hosted 21 sessions with an average of 11 participants attending a session led by a medical oncologist.RESULTS IoT devices have become a way by which a patient gets all the information he or she needs from a physician without going to the clinic. Patient monitoring can be done in real time, allowing access to real-time information with improved patient treatment outcomes and a decrease in cost. Through IoT-enabled devices, the International Cancer Institute has set up weekly virtual tumor boards during which cancer cases are presented and discussed by all participating counties. An online training module on cancer is also offered. Furthermore, remote monitoring of a patient’s health helps to reduce the length of hospital stay and prevents readmissions.CONCLUSION In our setting, which has a few oncologists, use of IoT and tumor boards has helped to improve patient decision support as well as training for general physicians.