News
Economist article praises mHealth, highlights Voxiva
In a special report
on heath and technology, the Economist mentions 2 Voxiva projects in
Mexico and Rwanda. The relevant paragraphs have been re-posted here but be sure to check out the whole article at the Economist.com
Mexico:
In Mexico an mHealth initiative is already turning a profit. Some 4.5m Mexicans are customers of Medicall Home, a firm that provides unlimited consultations by mobile phone with doctors for a flat fee of about $5 a month. Pedro Yrigoyen, one of its founders, explains that many of his countrymen lack health insurance or live in remote areas far from hospitals, but almost always have mobile phones. His firm is now working with Voxiva to offer more mHealth services and to extend them across Latin America. With funding from Fundacion Carso, a charity funded by Carlos Slim, a Mexican telecoms magnate, the group hopes to mine its data to benefit both patients and public-health officials.
Rwanda:
The mobile-based technology provided to Rwandan health workers by Voxiva, an American firm, should make users in rich countries jealous. Local officials in Rwanda now have mobile phones loaded with software that allows them to enter and transmit health data back to their base so they can access information on potential outbreaks, shortages of medicines and so on in real time. They also use mobiles to order medicines, send public-health alerts and download medical guidelines.
Mexico:
In Mexico an mHealth initiative is already turning a profit. Some 4.5m Mexicans are customers of Medicall Home, a firm that provides unlimited consultations by mobile phone with doctors for a flat fee of about $5 a month. Pedro Yrigoyen, one of its founders, explains that many of his countrymen lack health insurance or live in remote areas far from hospitals, but almost always have mobile phones. His firm is now working with Voxiva to offer more mHealth services and to extend them across Latin America. With funding from Fundacion Carso, a charity funded by Carlos Slim, a Mexican telecoms magnate, the group hopes to mine its data to benefit both patients and public-health officials.
Rwanda:
The mobile-based technology provided to Rwandan health workers by Voxiva, an American firm, should make users in rich countries jealous. Local officials in Rwanda now have mobile phones loaded with software that allows them to enter and transmit health data back to their base so they can access information on potential outbreaks, shortages of medicines and so on in real time. They also use mobiles to order medicines, send public-health alerts and download medical guidelines.