Recommendations for Implementing Telemedicine in the Developing World

Telemedicine is a tool used to deliver health care from a distance. Developing countries can benefit from telemedicine because these countries face such issues as a lack of specialists and medical infrastructure. Telemedicine in the developing world can offer solutions to healthcare access for people in rural areas, reduce healthcare costs, and possibly improve healthcare quality. A major benefit for patients is that they will be more involved in maintaining their health without the constant need to visit healthcare centers. The purpose of this paper is to provide solutions and recommendations for the implementation of telemedicine in the developing world. A comprehensive search of both academic and gray literature was conducted in September 2012. The results show that there are potential benefits of and challenges in the implementation of telemedicine in developing countries. How to overcome the key challenges related to financial issues, acceptance, health infrastructure, and legal and privacy issues is discussed.