mHealth applications for clinical education, decision making, and patient adherence in Botswana

This paper describes mHealth projects in Botswana that increase provider and patient access to health information. mHealth is defined to include any aspect of health care facilitated by mobile phone technology. The University of Botswana School of Medicine is currently evaluating the use of mobile phones to facilitate specialist trainee (resident physician) mentoring. Residents are provided data-enabled mobile phones that provide medical references and applications that allow them to consult with specialist supervisors on difficult cases. An SMS query system can also be used to obtain Botswana National Treatment Guidelines based on keyword searches. A local NGO, PING, provides SMS services for patients to facilitate appointment scheduling and attendance as well as medication adherence. The initial successes of mHealth projects in Botswana demonstrate the potential for mobile phone technology and mobile learning in clinical education, decision making, and patient adherence.