DESIGN OF A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR A MEDICAL TELE-MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (MTMS) IN RESOURCE-CONSTRAINED SETTINGS

Abstract

Medical tele-management is an emerging field of study in tele-health that proposes an interactive and proactive disease management approach which combines tele-monitoring and tele-consultation services through an information and communications technology (ICT) supported partnership. It is aimed at minimizing the burden of health management both for the patient and physician, especially in developing countries. However, existing solutions in form of systems and frameworks exist singly either as tele-monitoring or tele-consultation systems and majorly in developed countries with dedicated and adequate ICT resources and infrastructure. Hence, this paper presents the design of a Medical Tele-Management System (MTMS) which serves as a framework that combines both tele-monitoring and tele-consultation services within an information and communication technology resource-constrained setting.