E-Health (e-health) is a present term for healthcare practice supported by electronic processes and communication dating back to at least 1999. E-Health provides information on common illnesses and diseases and how to cure them through electronic media help from one place to another place in the country. E-health provides links to near hospitals and health centers for the rural community in Bangladesh.

 

E-Health:

Health care is one of our basic needs. Every day you need health related information. In order to provide health information to the people Bangladesh, government created e-info web portal. You can visit e- info site to get more health related information.

http://www.dghs.gov.bd/index.php/bd/e-health/2013-06-18-09-06-38

http://www.infokosh.bangladesh.gov.bd/list.php?category_id=3

Known community clinics of Bangladesh:

http://www.communityclinic.gov.bd/about.php

Health Economics Unit, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:

http://heu.gov.bd/index.php/health-care-financing/health-care-financing-strategy.html

Healthcare insurance:

http://heu.gov.bd/index.php/health-care-financing/health-insurance.html

Bangladesh’s (Govt.’s) plan for healthcare:

http://heu.gov.bd/index.php/health-care-financing/shasthyo-shurokhsha-karmasuchi.html

The quacks and midwifery with little knowledge or no formal training are covering more than 50 percent healthcare in the villages. The healthcare providers who are trained practicing modern medicine are occupying a mere a small percentages of the total health workforce. E-Health may improve the situation in the rural community by using district web portal of Bangladesh: National web portal of Bangladesh

 

List of hospitals in Bangladesh (some districts):

http://www.dronibd.com/emergency/hospital.htm

Read more on the list of diagnostic centers in Bangladesh:

http://itlinkbd.com/health/clinic-a-diagnostic-center.html

Community Clinics in Bangladesh:

http://www.communityclinic.gov.bd/about.php

Private clinics in Bangladesh:

http://www.bangladeshmedicaldirectory.com/list-of-private-hospitals-in-bangladesh.html

Addresses of hospitals:

http://hospitalinfobd.blogspot.com/2012/07/update-hospital-list-in-bangladesh.html

 

 Common Diseases in the Rural Community 

Health hazards are abounding in the villages springing from poor quality of water and existence of infectious diseases. The water crisis is severe here, with widespread bacterial contamination of river water and arsenic contamination of the groundwater. Every now and then, the villagers suffer from diseases such as Diarrhea, Malaria, Jaundice, Typhoid, Influenza, and Dengue which are common in Bangladesh.

 

How to prevent common diseases:

http://healthvermont.gov/prevent/

List of Private Clinics in Bangladesh:

http://jbptc-world.com/tag/hospital-clinic-list-of-bangladesh/

Govt.’s Strategy for health and healthcare safety:

www.lonelyplanet.com/bangladesh/practical-information/health‎

 

Huge Coverage Area to Support Healthcare

Bangladesh is a densely populated area with a large population of 151.82 millions (adb.org/bangladesh, 2012). Most of the people have been living in the rural areas. The Inhabitants of Urban areas get a better healthcare but the rural inhabitants are deprived of a good healthcare support. Therefore, the attention of the government and non-government healthcare organizations should be more imperative for the rural areas. The present government of Bangladesh has spread the web network to the union health centers for better services to the villagers. Bangladesh, at present, has 500 upazilas and 509 administrative thanas. The upazilas are the second lowest connectors of regional administration in Bangladesh. The administrative structure consists of, in fact, in Divisions (7), Districts (64), Upazila and Union Parishads (UPs) to strengthen the Local Government. There are 4,451 Unions in Bangladesh. (Union Parishad Act, 2009.)

 

The Local Government of Bangladesh:

http://www.ecs.gov.bd/MenuExternalFilesEng/267.pdf

 

Union Healthcare System (Community Clinic) Inaugurated in Bangladesh

The Upazilla System has given a better result to extend union healthcare system in the rural areas throug Union stations. Internet, mobile phones and the media as a whole play a vital role to upgrade the healthcare of the poor people of villages. A few days back, the Prime Minister of the country has inaugurated the union healthcare centers through a voice call. The call has reached a big part of the villagers through the union centers (Information Service Center) also. If the healthcare system works properly, near in future, the health of the rural people will be improved. Most of the villagers lack of robust maternal health, lack of life-saving health tips of family planning and reproductive health, maternal nutrition, safe delivery, antenatal care, and postnatal care. The government supported the community-based field-level health workers (CHWs) that provide counseling to mothers often lack accuracy and up-to-date information on those topics. However, there are many reasons that can make us hopeful.

 

E-Toolkit and E-Learning Courses and the Role of the Government

The eToolkit and eLearning courses are being applied as an eHealth pilot project through 300 note book computers and up to 300 existing facility and information center-based computers in two of the lowest-performing districts in Bangladesh, Sylhet and Chittagong. These digital resources can support field level healthcare and improve their client interactions. The Community Health Workers (CHWs) often have too many job aids to carry, lack basic Behavior Change Communication (BCC) health tools and training, and are given material with conflicting messages that may not be the best practices. Experienced and trained CHWs can take the lightweight note books to households at villages and reach a greater number of clients with essential maternal health information at their fingertips through USB Modems. The eToolkit will be loaded to existing computers in health facilities and information centers so that service providers can use the materials in the workplace when counseling patients or for their own reference. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has already manufactured laptops by its Telephone Shilpo Sangtha (TSS) . The laptops are available now in Dhaka, and the work can begin to configure them with appropriate software then image the Toolkit. The govt. is also providing orientation and training to the CHWs on how to use the laptops for the purpose of healthcare in the rural community. In the mean time, each of the Chairmen of 4,451 Union Parishads got free laptops.

 

The Rural Community can place their demands or raising pressure groups related to healthcare services if the below mentioned requirements are not fulfilled or met:

1. 1. Interview, field survey, structured questionnaire and observation
   2. Hearing views, opinions and comments on eHealth
   3. Meeting with the public representatives like Union Chairmen and
   4. elites, teachers, counselors/members, farmers, social workers etc.
   5. Training up the people interested in eHealth
   6. Trained doctors in e-Health are highly needed.
   7. Budget in the Healthcare system may be higher.
   8. Healthcare system must be prioritized.
   9. Special care should be given to the rural community’s healthcare.
   10. Doctors should have the mentality to serve the rural community.
   11. The Number of doctors’ recruitment must be higher.

 

Participation of Rural Community to Healthcare System

The participation status of the people is very low in number of the health characteristics, viz., facing physical problem, proper sanitation guidelines, frequency of doctors’ visits, and distance to hospital. The respondents that had good health and live nearby hospital are able to take treatment from the hospital. The age of respondents, types of diseases, types of the family, present occupation status, residence status whether near to hospital, whether ensured of safe drinking water, physical obstruction status, proper sanitation status, administrative factors, bureaucratic norms and motivational therapy are also important determinants for the people’s participation in the rural health complex.

Ref: People’s Participation in Health Services: A Study of Bangladesh’s Rural Health Complex, Bangladesh Development Research Center (BDRC)

 

The Role of Electronic Media, National TV, Radio, Cell Phone and Internet

Tele-medicine, Internet Prescription and Electronic Media can play a vital role for improving eHealthcare system in Bangladesh. Afterwards, the eHealthcare system can reach para/moholla/gram/village from the unions in the remote areas of Bangladesh. E-Health Card can be introduced amongst the rural patients for preserving their disease history. We can exemplify the lessons of ICDDRB, Bangladesh. They have reduced the death risk of diarrhea though they could cover very small peripherals of Bangladesh. The Upazilla Healthcare Center/General Hospitals have been working with the rest. A central database of community clients can be maintained for the entire country for research and formulation, for pre-cautions and experience like ICDDRB (Read more: http://www.icddrb.org/media-centre/news). The data will come from the union station through community healthcare workers and be stored at a central database. A research center may be set up for the diseases like (malaria, dengue, diarrhea, typhoid, tetanus, water borne diseases, allergy, asthma, gynecological diseases, rheumatic pains, arthritis etc.), which are common in the rural areas. Some infectious diseases can be prevented by following the instructions and health tips. A proverb says, “Prevention is better than cure”. Media (National TV, Radio, Cell Phone) can play a vital role in the remote areas. Health tips may also be prepared through leaflets and multi-media projections. The subject matter should be interesting to the rural people. The way they understand, we have to introduce the fact and consequences of diseases. As a result, the interaction of the poor patients will be increased in number.

 

Telemedicine:

 http://www.muhammadyunus.org/.../681-telemedicine-tackling-rural

 

We can follow the under mentioned ways for attracting the rural community for the participation in the healthcare services:

 

1. 1. By using Multi-media projectors, we can make aware of children, women and aged people by also showing small drama, incidents, consequences, preventions, and taking care of health etc.
   2. The Union Centers can employ health workers (CHWs) for awareness by giving them health tips and family planning advises to reach rural community
   3. Different rural sports (like hadodu, daria banda, golla chut, boat racing, ox fighting, pillow fighting in the air etc.) may be arranged and present prizes on health activities.
   4. Posters with attractive picture messages can draw their attention.
   5. Bioscope is very much popular in the rural community. Features of common diseases can be shown in accordance with famous Mina Cartoon.
   6. Lessons on common diseases and their preventions may be projected in the class rooms of different schools and colleges through interactions.
   7. Mela (gatherings of different sports/games, handicrafts, dry foods etc.) may be arranged for attracting rural women and children.
   8. Attending field gatherings of rural women before the premises of their houses for attracting attention to have their interactions
   9. For attracting the rural community to the healthcare services, big billboards may be set up at the union levels giving healthcare pre-cautions.
   10. Cell phone network operators may undertake attractive programs through (SMS, MMS, Call Center, Voice Call) for attracting rural people for understanding health consciousness. Bengali (Bangla) mobile messages can also make them interested to healthcare as they are at low literacy level.
   11. Making use of the Govt. District Web Portal for spreading over to Upazilla levels to Union levels and then to the villages.
   12. A pilot project may be exercised as a test case.