On green virtual clinics: A framework for extending health care services to rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa

Access to quality healthcare is a major problem in Sub-Saharan Africa with a doctor-to-patient ratio as high as 1:50,000 which is far above the recommended ratio of the World Health Organization (WHO). This has been aggravated by the lack of access to critical infrastructures such as the health care facilities, roads, electricity and many others. Even if these infrastructures are provided, the number of medical practitioners to cater for the growing population of these countries is not sufficient. However, the growing impacts of telemedicine have shown some positive effects in the healthcare delivery system, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, this paper shows how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be used to drive a sustainable and veritable health care delivery system through the introduction and promotion of Virtual Clinics and integration of various health information systems such as Electronic/Mobile Health and Electronic Health Record systems into the healthcare industry in Sub-Saharan Africa. Having identified implementation challenges as a major problem to the success of e-Health initiatives, the paper suggests ways of attaining successful implementation of telemedicine applications or services and remote health care facilities. Furthermore, research directions for the successful implementation and integration of the Virtual Clinic systems are provided.