Wanted: PDAs for African physicians!
Can you imagine having little or no access to current medical textbooks, journals, the Internet or clinical drug references? That's the reality for most physicians and medical students in Africa.
SATELLIFE's mobile computer projects provide African physicians and students with urgently needed access to critical, up-to-date medical and drug information.
You can help!
If you have a PDA you no longer need, or are thinking of purchasing an Epocrates Essentials/ mobile bundle, please donate your old PDA to Satellife Global Health Network Mobile Computer Project in Africa and help African doctors stay current with medical best practices (cash and stock contributions are tax-deductible as provided by law).
SATELLIFE also welcomes monetary donations.
More than 350 PDAs donated so far!
SATELLIFE says:
Thanks to all of the generous Epocrates customers who responded to this call for help, SATELLIFE has already begun to distribute the mobile devices to healthcare partners in Africa. One of the first programs to receive the units is a family practice training program in Kenya where they will be used with reference books and patient tracking programs. Shipments will soon be out the door to the medical school at Makerere University in Uganda, a community health program in Kenya, the Aga Khan hospital in Kenya and to a health data collection program in Ghana. Our partners in Africa will be using these devices for patient tracking, accessing current health information and collecting community health data.
"We have seen firsthand how modest investments in technology can transform health care in the world's poorest countries. A handheld computer, which we here in the U.S. consider an everyday tool, can carry a virtual library of critical knowledge to the most remote African village plagued by malaria and AIDS thus dramatically improving the quality of care provided to the community, alleviating much suffering and ultimately, saving lives. We are so grateful for the support of the Epocrates customers in helping us continue this important work." Holly Ladd, Executive Director
This program has been so successful and we've received more mobile devices than we ever expected. Our challenge now is to ship the devices to Africa, a costly process for which we are now seeking donations.
SATELLIFE staff sorting and testing some of the mobile devices donated by Epocrates customers.
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Negev Bar, MD, is currently volunteering as a physician in rural Uganda. He sent us this report about his experiences:
"I'm a 4th-year Family Physician Resident at the Department of Family Medicine in Haifa, Israel, and for the last 9 months, I have volunteered as a physician in Kisiizi Hospital - a rural hospital in southwest Uganda.
This 200-bed hospital serves the population of Rukungiri district, which suffers from a severe shortage of trained medical staff, especially physicians. Most people there are farmers living in small villages in mud houses with no electricity or running water.
Like most parts of Africa, this area has a prevalence of HIV (up to 20%) and very high mortality rates from Tuberculosis and Malaria. The life expectancy in Uganda is 46 for woman and 43 for men. The infant mortality rate is 87.9 per 1000 live births.
I first visited Africa a few years ago as a tourist. Then, without the ability to help, I felt the great suffering of thousands of human beings not receiving medical care. Today, as a physician, I feel I cannot remain indifferent. After obtaining the knowledge and tools which could be used, I feel I should utilize them on behalf of people in areas of the world where a physician is a "luxury" and available to the wealthy only.
The work is challenging - very few lab tests or imaging are available, no HIV drugs, and very few medicines for diabetes or hypertension. Conversely, I see daily use of medications prohibited in the "west" due to their severe side effects.
I reference the drug database and ID reference in Epocrates Rx Pro almost every day. Some of the Tables are very useful for use in the "Tropics": Apgar score, G6PD deficiency, Glasgow coma score for adults and children, insulin comparison, lab normal values, normal vital signs...
Unfortunately, local herbs that are used as medicines have not made it into the Rx database!"
Photos of Life at Kisiizi Hospital, Uganda
Taken by Negev Bar, MD
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