Open AccessMobile Health in Uganda: A Case Study of the Medical Concierge Group
Author(s) -
Louis H. Kamulegeya,
Joseph Ssebwana,
Wilson Abigaba,
John Mark Bwanika,
Davis Musinguzi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
east africa science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2664-1003
pISSN - 2664-0996
DOI - 10.24248/easci.v1.iss1.12
Subject(s) - mobile phone , internet privacy , short message service , social media , business , the internet , phone , health care , information dissemination , advertising , medicine , world wide web , telecommunications , computer science , political science , philosophy , linguistics , law
The ubiquity of mobile phones offers an opportunity for aparadigm change in health-care delivery, which may offer solutions tosome of the challenges faced by the health sector in Uganda. The MedicalConcierge Group (TMCG) is a digital health company, headquartered inUganda, which leverages on mobile phone-based platforms – such as shortmessaging service (SMS), voice calling – and social media to deliverhealth services. Just over two-thirds (68%) of users of TMCG’s servicesare males between 18 and 30 years of age. SMS reminders have improvedthe honouring of health facility appointments among HIV-positiveclients, from 60% to 90%; retention rates at supported health facilitieshave improved from 45% to 89%. Furthermore, information disseminationhas been achieved via mobile SMS, wherein subscribers can access healthcontent on diverse topics – such as HIV/AIDS prevention and familyplanning – by sending messages to a pre-defined short code to a phoneline. Over 900 beneficiaries have accessed health content via SMSsubscriptions. Social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter,are used for health information dissemination and have enabled a widerreach to over 13 million beneficiaries accessing health information onTMCG’s Facebook page alone. Tailoring mobile phone-based health contentto meet the target beneficiaries’ needs is critical for TMCG’s impactand uptake. With rising rates of phone ownership and Internetconnectivity in Uganda, mobile phones offer an affordable and provenadoptable avenue to overcome the chronic challenges faced by the healthsector.