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EPharmacyNet: an approach to improve the pharmaceutical care delivery in developing countries-study case-BENIN

Authors:

Thierry Oscar Edoh,

Gunnar TeegeAuthors Info & Claims

IHI '10: Proceedings of the 1st ACM International Health Informatics Symposium

Pages 859 - 863

https://doi.org/10.1145/1882992.1883125

Published: 11 November 2010 Publication History

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Abstract

One of the problems in health care in developing countries is the bad accessibility of medicine in pharmacies for patients. Since this is mainly due to a lack of organization and information, it should be possible to improve the situation by introducing information and communication technology. However, for several reasons, standard solutions are not applicable here.

In this paper, we describe a case study in Benin, a West African developing country. We identify the problem and the existing obstacles for applying standard ECommerce solutions. Then we describe an adapted system approach and a practical test which has shown that the approach has the potential of actually improving the pharmaceutical care delivery, i.e. improving the distribution of medicine in developing countries, mainly in rural regions.

References

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Thamar K. 2005. Befindensweisen & therapeutische Wege in Dendougou, Benin. Doctoral Thesis. Institut für Völkerkunde Universität zu Köln (University of Cologne). urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-16006 DOI= http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/volltexte/2005/1600/

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Adeya, G., A. Bigirimana, K. Cavanaugh, and L. Miller Franco. 2007. Rapid Assessment of the HealthSystem in Benin, April 2006. Submitted to the U.S. Agency for International Development. DOI = http://www.healthsystems2020.org/files/1917_file_Benin_Pilot_Test_Assessment_Report.pdf

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Cited By

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Edoh T(2021)Challenges Facing Healthcare Delivery Systems in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income CountriesResearch Anthology on Public Health Services, Policies, and Education10.4018/978-1-7998-8960-1.ch014(299-352)Online publication date: 2021
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-8960-1.ch014
Edoh TPawar PLoko L(2021)Challenges Facing Health Service Delivery in Developing Countries and Solution ApproachesResearch Anthology on Digital Transformation, Organizational Change, and the Impact of Remote Work10.4018/978-1-7998-7297-9.ch076(1533-1577)Online publication date: 2021
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7297-9.ch076
Edoh T(2018)Challenges Facing Healthcare Delivery Systems in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income CountriesAdvanced Systems for Improved Public Healthcare and Disease Prevention10.4018/978-1-5225-5528-5.ch001(1-69)Online publication date: 2018
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5528-5.ch001
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Index Terms

EPharmacyNet: an approach to improve the pharmaceutical care delivery in developing countries-study case-BENIN
1. Applied computing
  1. Life and medical sciences
    1. Health care information systems

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Reviews

Reviewer: Tony Rozan Sahama

Edoh and Teege present a case study on patient access to prescription drugs in the developing West African country of Benin. One of the main concerns is "pharmacy tourism," where users have to travel to multiple pharmacies to obtain all of the drugs prescribed to them. The authors present ePharmacyNet as a case study, using an information and communications technology (ICT)-based solution to this problem. Specifically, the ePharmacyNet approach would support patients with chronic conditions. Pharmacies would most likely keep the required drugs for chronic conditions in stock for patients once the first prescription was received, and when it was made clear that the patient would be returning for further supplies. Developing e-prescription and e-pharmacy protocols for this workflow requires further consideration. Organizational acceptability and accountability are practical issues when organizations implement ICT-related processes where a calculated risk assessment must be quantified. For example, what if the new ICT system does not function as anticipated__?__ In general, the ePharmacyNet approach is a simple, localized test that shows promise. The deployment is useful, but requires support from clinicians, consumers, and policymakers in order to make it practical and sustainable. Overall, the ePharmacyNet case study of Benin earns merit for its design, development, and deployment, particularly for developing countries. Online Computing Reviews Service

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Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

IHI '10: Proceedings of the 1st ACM International Health Informatics Symposium

November 2010

886 pages

ISBN:9781450300308

DOI:10.1145/1882992

Editor:
Tiffany Veinot
University of Michigan, USA
,
General Chairs:
Ümit V. Çatalyürek
The Ohio State University, USA
,
Gang Luo
IBM Research, USA
,
Program Chairs:
Henrique Andrade
Goldman Sachs, USA
,
Neil R. Smalheiser
University of Illinois, Chicago, USA

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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SIGHIT: ACM Special Interest Group on Health Informatics

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 11 November 2010

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IHI '10

IHI '10: ACM International Health Informatics Symposium

November 11 - 12, 2010

Virginia, Arlington, USA

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Cited By

View all

Edoh T(2021)Challenges Facing Healthcare Delivery Systems in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income CountriesResearch Anthology on Public Health Services, Policies, and Education10.4018/978-1-7998-8960-1.ch014(299-352)Online publication date: 2021
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-8960-1.ch014
Edoh TPawar PLoko L(2021)Challenges Facing Health Service Delivery in Developing Countries and Solution ApproachesResearch Anthology on Digital Transformation, Organizational Change, and the Impact of Remote Work10.4018/978-1-7998-7297-9.ch076(1533-1577)Online publication date: 2021
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-7297-9.ch076
Edoh T(2018)Challenges Facing Healthcare Delivery Systems in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income CountriesAdvanced Systems for Improved Public Healthcare and Disease Prevention10.4018/978-1-5225-5528-5.ch001(1-69)Online publication date: 2018
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5528-5.ch001
Edoh TPawar PLoko L(2018)Challenges Facing Health Service Delivery in Developing Countries and Solution ApproachesHandbook of Research on Emerging Perspectives on Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics10.4018/978-1-5225-5460-8.ch023(515-559)Online publication date: 11-May-2018
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-5460-8.ch023
Crow JBroussard RDong LFinn JWiley BGeisler GLuo GLiu JYang C(2012)A synthesis of research on ICT adoption and use by medical professionals in Sub-Saharan AfricaProceedings of the 2nd ACM SIGHIT International Health Informatics Symposium10.1145/2110363.2110384(161-170)Online publication date: 28-Jan-2012
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2110363.2110384

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Using Information Technology for an Improved Pharmaceutical Care Delivery in Developing Countries. Study Case: Benin

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