Applicability of m Health for Healthcare Management in Developing Countries: A Study in Bangladesh

Health care is one of the most important dependencies for economic growth and sustainability of a country. Most of the developing countries are facing the challenges of quality healthcare. However, recent advances in mobile communication technologies could play role in improving healthcare systems in developing countries. There is a great potential in using mHealth as one of the supportive systems within the healthcare sector to solve the inequalities in healthcare delivery between rural and urban hospitals/clinics. The emergence of smart mobile phones have created an unprecedented opportunity to provide health services to people in developing countries in an instantaneous, interactive and customized way. This research aims to evaluate the applicability, issues and challenges for implementation of mobile healthcare system in the developing world. To build up and promote mHealth services in the developing countries, this research has conducted a readiness assessment in some selected rural and urban hospitals/clinics of Bangladesh. Finally, a set of guidelines has been suggested to aid the implementation of a successful mobile healthcare system.