K.H. Tiedemann (Canada)
Primary care, telehealth, mortality rates, cost-benefit analysis, South Africa.
The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa. Like the rest of South Africa, the Eastern Cape faces a growing health care crisis, as overall mortality rates have been increasing with negative impacts on individuals, families, the economy and the society. Rapidly increasing government and private health care expenditures have had difficulty in keeping up with expanding health care needs, with a resulting gap between health care needs and delivery. Telemedicine is one mechanism that can help to fill the gap between health care needs and delivery in the Eastern Cape. This paper examines the telehealth system in the Eastern Cape, including a summary of the socioeconomic situation, a review of major causes of mortality, an examination of key elements of the Telehealth system and a preliminary assessment of costs and benefits.
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