HealthNet:  An Electronic Lifeline

Introduction 

Today HealthNet provides health-care professionals even in remote areas of the South with medical information that was previously unattainable. The network is active in more than 30 developing nations (including 22 African countries), with more countries scheduled to join in the near future. Partly funded by IDRC, HealthNet uses radio- and telephone-based computer networks and a low-earth-orbit satellite to transfer medical information from one part of the world to developing countries and vice versa. The satellite, HealthSat2, can download information to one of eight ground stations in seven countries at least four times a day. From the ground stations, information is sent to computers in doctors' offices or research institutions (see Supplemental information for location of ground stations). 

HealthNet's "store and forward" system of transferring information is not as fast or direct as full access to the Internet, but it is less expensive to set up in remote areas where telecommunications infrastructure is lacking, making it sustainable for developing nations. The system is administered by SatelLife, a U.S.-based, non-profit organization aimed at improving communications in the fields of public health, medicine, and the environment. 

In addition to providing access to valuable medical information, HealthNet improves health care by promoting dialogue among health professionals around the world through electronic conferences and other forms of information sharing. Its success lies in the range of technological solutions SatelLife offers to suit the each country's existing communications systems. 

Impact 

• Increased access to information - From medical library bulletins to electronic conferences and publications, HealthNet provides access to information that was previously difficult or too expensive to obtain. A subscription includes HealthNet News, SatelLife's main electronic publication, which summarizes the latest medical research relevant to the developing world. The network also provides indirect access to databases in the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
• Saves lives - Reports indicate that HealthNet can help save lives and provide better health care in isolated areas. For example, one doctor in a remote village in Zambia — faced with a patient suffering from an unusual condition — sent an e-mail message via HealthNet to the country's leading teaching hospital. The recommended treatment was quickly relayed back, and the patient recovered without having to make an arduous journey to the city. In another case, at the Muhimbili Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, doctors used HealthNet to help reduce the death rate among pediatric burn patients. Through e-mail, doctors at the centre were able to compare notes with other burn doctors in Africa and consult specialists and health organizations around the world, at least one of which sent free shipments of a drug that helps heal burns and reduces pain.
• Libraries linked - The Library Partnership Program set up by SatelLife pairs libraries in the South and North, helping subscribers receive the complete text of articles.  (HealthNet also summarizes articles.) The program helps librarians in the South develop new skills.
• Response to epidemics facilitated - Improved access to information helps health professionals respond more effectively to epidemics. SatelLife also encourages the reporting and sharing of information on emerging diseases through an electronic conference called ProMED. Subscribers can also tap into four other electronic conferences (moderated e-mail discussion groups that are open to anyone with e-mail access).
• Affordable technology - HealthNet is affordable for most health workers and medical institutions. Once the ground station is installed, the operating costs are a fraction of telephone or fax costs.

How the project developed 

• In 1981, a participant at an IDRC workshop on computer-based conferencing delivered a paper on the concept of using low-earth-orbit satellites to help developing countries bridge the information gap.
• In 1982, two non-profit organizations — Volunteers in Technical Assistance and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation — joined forces to test the concept. IDRC funded a demonstration of this experiment in 1985.
• In 1988, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and IDRC staff discussed the idea of using a low-cost communications satellite system to address the growing health information gap in developing countries. IPPNW formed SatelLife in 1989 to pursue the concept, and developed the technical aspects over the next few years.
• In 1991, IDRC funded the research project HealthNet: Satellite Communications Research for Development.
• In 1992, the first edition of HealthNet News was transmitted by satellite.

Prerequisites 

For the subscriber, HealthNet's software is similar to any e-mail software. The system permits messages to be addressed to any Internet destination in the world or to other HealthNet subscribers. 

Potential users 

Future outlook 

Contact

Renald Lafond, Senior Program Specialist 
Information and Communications Technologies 
Programs Branch, IDRC 
P.O. Box 8500 
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA  K1G 3H9 
Tel: (613) 236-6163, ext. 2414 
Fax: (613) 567-7749 
E-mail: rlafond@idrc.ca 

Resources 

SatelLife News 

Technical developments that have made HealthNet possible  

Supplemental information 

• Guiyang, China (Guizho Provincial Institute of Parasitic Diseases)
• Lamborene, Gabon (The Albert Schweitzer Hospital)
• Ibadan, Nigeria (WHO Tropical Disease Research Site at the University College Medical School)
• Navrongo, Ghana (WHO Tropical Disease Research Site)
• Ifakara, Tanzania (National Institute for Medical Research)
• Mwanza, Tanzania (African Medical and Research Foundation Center)
• Khartoum, Sudan (University Medical College
• Kikwit, Zaire (Vanga Mission Hospital)

Copyright 1998 © International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada