E-health futures in Bangladesh

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to delineate alternative e-health futures for public health policymaking in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology used in the paper is the Six Pillars approach to explore alternative and preferred futures for the establishment of a health information system and e-health provision in Bangladesh. Findings - There is a great deal of potential for encouraging participatory engagement between various stakeholders in Bangladesh's public health policymaking. The Six Pillars approach is used not only to enhance this participatory approach but also to examine various discourses and different stakeholder voices to create four alternative futures for e-health delivery in Bangladesh: first, leap-frog 2025; second, e-health car 2025; third, health cloud 2025; and fourth, e-health political party aimed at optimizing the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on one hand and ensuring widened access and participation on the other. Practical implications - The alternative scenarios identify four possible ways of bringing together society, government and business to achieve positive public health outcomes by creating an open, trust-based and efficient e-health system, not only in Bangladesh but also in other developing countries. The scenarios challenge health business as usual and used futures. Social implications - The paper aims to communicate a humane public approach to the issue of health which envisages using modern ICTs to maximize democratic access to the public health system and reduce health marginalization in Bangladesh. Originality/value - The paper is a pioneering attempt to use Six Pillars for public health policymaking in Bangladesh. It is based on the first e-health workshop in Bangladesh.